


Freshmen Year

by kimurasato



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Character Death, F/M, M/M, Nudity, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-23
Updated: 2014-03-27
Packaged: 2018-01-16 16:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 49,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1354597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimurasato/pseuds/kimurasato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny embarks on his freshmen year of college and makes some new discoveries about old enemies and himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was one of my earlier works written back in 2004. I updated it a bit since then though, giving it a whole different ending.
> 
> Danny's around 19 in this, so I should probably warn for some under aged drinking in one part of the story.

Dash walked down the hallway, shaking his aching hand. One thing he hated about the end of the year was yearbook signing. After the first hundred, he had lost count of how many people approached him to have their yearbook signed, but he kept all the signings short and never varied the message. _Dear (insert the yearbook owner’s name), have a great summer. Dash Baxter_. He had signed everyone’s yearbook this way for years. Yet they still came to him every year and asked him to sign their yearbooks. And people thought he was dense? He didn’t _care_ about them or their stupid yearbooks. They came to him, most of them blushing, giggling, shy, or stuttering, as they asked for him to sign their yearbooks. It was like they thought of him as a celebrity. Though being the star player of their school’s football team, the Casper Ravens, perhaps he _was_ a celebrity to them. And for some reason, he couldn’t say no to them. He considered skipping school to avoid this, but that wouldn’t look good on his record. Even if this _was_ his senior year, he knew his father would lecture him for hours about skipping.

Sighing, Dash stopped before his locker to clear out all the clutter from the year and maybe find those missing textbooks he lost at the beginning of the year. He was sure his teachers would be thrilled to have them back. As he started to turn the lock, something lying on the floor caught his eye. He stooped down and picked up the thick, leather-bound book. Someone had dropped their yearbook? Dash opened the yearbook and found the owner’s name printed on a label in the left hand corner of the cover. Daniel Fenton. The yearbook belonged to Fenton? A small smile twitched at Dash’s lips. He might have to make an exception to what he wrote in yearbooks. Sitting on the ground, Dash pulled out a pen and began writing a short message to Danny.

Meanwhile, Danny growled as he searched the remaining junk in his locker. He could have grabbed a trash can and emptied out everything still left in the locker into the garbage. But he felt too lazy to do that at the moment. How could he have lost his yearbook?

“As much fun as it is to watch you look for your yearbook, Danny, I have relatives flying in for graduation, and they arrive today,” Sam announced to her friends.

“Yeah, I gotta go too, Danny,” Tucker said.

“I never said you had to stay,” Danny replied, continuing his search. “Go on ahead. I’ll see you later.” Danny waved to his friends as they walked down the hallway. Then he glared into his locker, and it mocked him by spewing out some of the junk inside it at Danny’s feet. He thought he had left the yearbook in his locker. So why was his yearbook not in there?

Straightening his stance, Danny scratched the back of his head. He was about ready to give up his search when he felt warm breath washing over his neck. He turned around to find the shock of his life when he saw Dash standing right behind him. His eyes grew wide, and he jumped back into the locker. Losing his balance, Danny landed on his butt inside the locker, feeling - okay, he wasn’t exactly sure what that was, but it was gooey and now splattered over the back of his jeans.

“I’ve got something you want, Fenton,” Dash stated, the tone in his voice less harsh than normal making Danny curious about what Dash could possibly have that he wanted. He grabbed Danny by the front of the shirt and hoisted him out of the locker. The few remaining people in the hallways watched as Dash dragged Danny away, most wondering just what Dash had planned for the shorter raven haired teen. _A going away beating, no doubt_ , Danny thought with a mental sigh.

“Come on, Dash. I haven’t done anything,” Danny complained as Dash threw him into one of the classrooms. He winced when his back slammed into the teacher’s desk. Dash walked over to him in his most intimidating way. Nervousness overflowed in Danny as the blond jock placed his hands on the desk on either side of his body, trapping Danny so he couldn’t escape. “You said you had something I wanted,” Danny mumbled, stumbling over his words.

“Yeah, I do,” Dash answered with a nod, a smirk playing on his face.

Dash leaned over Danny as he reached for something behind Danny’s back. He slipped a leg between Danny’s legs, forcing them apart. Danny held his breath as his heart pounded loudly in his chest. His eyes clamped shut when he felt Dash’s breath blowing in his ear. Just what was Dash planning to do to him? The jock placed his other hand on Danny’s hip and leaned farther in, closing the gap between him and his prisoner. The mixture of sweat, leather, and really cheap cologne met with Danny’s nose, traveled down his trachea, and filled his lungs, making him dizzy from Dash’s scent. When his pants started to grow tight, Danny felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach and hoped that Dash couldn’t feel it pressing into his thigh.

Suddenly, Dash pulled away and thrust something hard against Danny’s chest. Opening his eyes, Danny looked down to find his yearbook. He looked back up at Dash, questioning the jock silently with his eyes, as confusion crossed his face.

“I found your yearbook on the floor. What did you think I wanted to give you?” Dash snorted before leaving the classroom.

Danny collapsed to his knees, releasing a heavy sigh. The yearbook fell from his hands, opening to a page near the back. Danny blinked at the page. Someone else had signed his yearbook? Both Sam and Tucker had signed his book at the front, and no one else in the entire school would even care to sign his book. Picking up the yearbook again, Danny read over the words scrolled out in a script near unreadable.

 _Danny Fenton,_  
I know how disappointed you are that our time together has come to an end, but I have some good news for you. I just received my information packet from Casper U yesterday. Turns out you and I are going to be dorm mates.  
Dash Baxter.

A whimper escaped Danny, and he banged his head against the yearbook’s hard cover. He thought he was finally free of Dash’s torment.


	2. Chapter 1

Danny dropped another box of clothes onto his designated bed in the dorm room with a loud sigh as he collapsed over the box. He had about seven boxes total strewn over his half of the room. The boxes with his computer and printer were at his desk while one box already sat in the closet. Two more boxes sat on the floor and the last two boxes had been dumped on the bed. After retrieving the last box from his parents’ car, Danny had to go through a long “good-bye” with his parents and his mother had to list out every emergency number, just in case, and instructed him not to give in to peer pressure and take part in illegal activities like doing drugs and underage drinking before Jack finally pulled her back into the car so that they could make the drive back to Amity Park. He had only been at Casper University for five hours, and he already didn’t like his living quarters. Boxes littered Dash’s side of the room, and Danny half feared that some of them contained torture devices to be used on him.

“Yo, Fenton!” Dash shouted, walking into their room with yet another two boxes. His blond hair was unkempt for the first time Danny could recall and sticking out at odd angles because the jock hadn’t slicked it back. A thin layer of sweat glistened over Dash’s forehead from all the heavy lifting he did and from the heat of the late summer day. “Take the box that says kitchen and put it on the counter in the kitchen.”

“Just because I’m your dorm mate doesn’t mean you can order me around like your own personal slave,” Danny said as he stood up straight again. He folded his arms over his chest, his white shirt becoming wrinkled from the action and pulling up to reveal a small sliver of smooth pale skin. He glared at the blond jock, who looked annoyed with his show of defiance.

Dash’s lip curled up in a snarl. He walked over to where Danny stood until only the boxes pressed between their bodies. Then he allowed the bottom box to slip from his grip. It landed on Danny’s foot with a loud thud, and Danny ripped out his foot from under the box. He bit his lower lip to keep from screaming a long stream of curses as he hopped on the uninjured foot. Not caring about the pain he caused to his dorm mate, Dash thrust the other box into Danny’s arms and almost knocked him to the ground.

“In the kitchen on the counter,” Dash ordered with a smug smirk as Danny’s bright blue eyes narrowed in anger. “And don’t break anything in there.”

Grumbling, Danny shifted the box to a more comfortable position before he limped out of the bedroom into the kitchen. As he set the box on the counter, he glared back at the doorway to the bedroom. If he thought going to Casper High with Dash had been a nightmare, then being Dash’s dorm mate would be a living hell. Danny already had to suppress the urge to possess Dash and then make him fall off a building or do something else resulting in a fatal ending. Of course, being the nice guy that Danny was, that urge hadn’t been too hard to suppress since he never had any real intention of following through with it.

Danny sighed as he let the thoughts of seeking vengeance upon the jock and his torturous ways flee his mind. He turned his attention away from the doorway to the box sitting on the counter before him. Curiosity took over his mind like a kid left alone in a toy store. He glanced toward the doorway once more before tearing into the box to discover what its unknown contents were. After he ripped the flaps of the box out from under each other, he peeked into the box.

“Um,” Danny mumbled as he pulled out a sharp butcher’s knife with a protective casing around the blade to keep it from damaging anything else in the box. He wasn’t so sure he wanted to know what Dash planned to do with a butcher’s knife. Images of Dash towering over him wielding the knife flashed in Danny’s mind, and a queasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.

“I said put the box on the counter,” Dash said in an irritated tone, his sudden appearance making Danny almost drop the knife. Danny turned to the jock walking toward him. Dash’s face was contorted with the usual angry expression he always wore when dealing with the man standing before him. However, Danny’s attention had oddly focused on the way a few blond strands hung down to brush over blond eyebrows. “I didn’t say put the box on the counter and then go through it like a nosy little loser.” Dash snatched the knife from Danny’s hand and set it on the counter beside the box.

“Why couldn’t _you_ just bring the box out here?” Danny asked as he glared at the jock.

“Because I asked you to do it,” Dash responded in a way that made him sound like some snobby upperclassman looking down on someone of a lower class before he pushed the shorter man toward the door to their bedroom. “Go get the other boxes marked for the kitchen.”

“I’m not your slave!” Danny shouted, but his defiance received a glare from the jock that made him gulp in fear. He spotted Dash’s hand only centimeters away from the butcher’s knife. He gave a nervous laugh, wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans, before he ducked back into the bedroom.

By the time he returned to the kitchen with another box, Dash had pulled out the plates and bowls in the first box along with other knives and bundles of forks, table knives, and spoons. The jock looked up as Danny dropped the second box onto the counter.

“Be careful with them,” Dash said with a growl as he grabbed the front of Danny’s white shirt and drew the other man closer until their faces were mere inches apart. Danny licked dry lips and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. “I don’t want to have to buy replacements because you carelessly broke something.” He released Danny with a small shove and returned to unpacking the box.

“It’s just kitchen stuff,” Danny muttered as his brow knitted in confusion. He couldn’t believe Dash was acting so protective over some stupid plates and silverware.

“Just bring me the other boxes,” Dash ordered.

Danny frowned but did as the jock asked and walked back into their bedroom. He had seen Dash’s hand inching toward the knives again and knew the jock wouldn’t hesitate to pick one up and throw it at him. Since Dash was the star of their football team, his aim probably wouldn’t miss Danny. In his mind, the best way to keep Dash from beating him into a bloody meat paddy would be to simply follow his orders, at least the reasonable ones.

“Just because he’s the big bad football jock, he gets to boss me around,” Danny mumbled and was almost tempted to kick the box across the room. However, that would make Dash angry, and an angry Dash was something Danny wanted to avoid at all costs. He brought out the remaining boxes labeled kitchen, receiving a glare from Dash every time he walked through the doorway. After the last box had joined the others on the counter, Danny returned to the bedroom to unpack his own things.

He finished putting away his things and made up his bed. When he left the bedroom, Danny found Dash folding up the boxes he had used. He walked over to the kitchen area and leaned against the counter. Dash didn’t bother to look up at him.

“So what’s with all the kitchen supplies?” Danny asked curiously. “You don’t really expect to eat a lot of home cooked meals, do you?”

“Mind your own business, Fenton,” Dash muttered, gathering up the boxes. “And don’t touch any of my stuff.” He walked into the bedroom.

Danny frowned then sighed. “This year is sure to be fun.” He walked over to the bedroom door. “I’m going out for a bit,” he told Dash before heading out of their dorm room. He left the building and started walking around the campus. _Just my luck_ , he thought grumpily, _getting stuck with Dash all year. I already have enough trouble keeping my grades up and dealing with ghosts. It was bad enough when he was just a bully. Now I have to deal with him in the bedroom too_. The thought sent bad vibes shuddering through his body.

He gasped, and a wisp floated up from his opened mouth. Looking up, Danny saw a few ghosts flying around above him. None of them seemed to be causing any trouble, so Danny let them be. But they made him realize something else. How hard was it going to be to find places to transform? High school and Amity Park had their own difficulties, but Casper University had many more people around to catch him.

 _Hopefully, the ghosts will give me a break_ , he thought, though he really doubted they would. He turned the corner after one building and rammed into someone. “Sorry!” Danny said out of instinct as he bent down to gather some of the fallen items.

“My fault,” said the woman. She set down her box before picking up some of the books and other items that had fallen out. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“I’m Danny.” He placed the items back into the box. Then he picked up the box. “Do you need help carrying this to your room?”

“No, that’s okay. I can handle it.” She took the box back from Danny. “It was nice to meet you though.”

Danny watched the woman walk off before he smacked his forehead. _I really am terrible with girls_ , he thought, depression setting in. He decided he had toured the campus long enough for one night and started heading back to his dorm. _What is it about me that repels girls?_ Danny wondered, raking a hand through his hair.

When he reached his room, Danny halted in the doorway. Another one of his high school bullies stood leaning against the kitchen counter, smiling and laughing with Dash. Trying to be as quiet as possible, Danny stepped back, planning to exit the room before they took notice of him. But he was too late.

“Hey, Fenton!” Kwan greeted, grinning at the shorter man.

“H-Hey, Kwan,” Danny stuttered. He remained in the doorway, ready to bolt if the two jocks decided they were in mood to pound on something.

“I should probably head out,” Kwan told Dash. “I have to head back to Amity Park, and I still have a few things to pack up before heading out tomorrow morning.”

“You idiot,” Dash grumbled, giving his friend a glare. “Why are you here then?”

Kwan rolled his eyes. “I wanted to say goodbye. We won’t see each other again until next summer, you know.” He glanced at Danny and pushed away from the counter. “Don’t forget what I said.”

“Yeah, yeah. Worry about your own stuff.” Dash snorted, waving his friend off.

Kwan walked toward the door of the room. He ruffled Danny’s hair as he passed then headed down the hallway. Straightening his hair, Danny watched him for a moment. Kwan always had been the strangest of the jocks. Danny closed the door after he entered the room fully.

“I’m going to finish unpack,” Dash mumbled before disappearing into the bedroom.

Danny wondered what exactly the two jocks had discussed, but he pushed the thought from his mind. One good thing about the whole roommate situation was the fact that Dash brought a big screen television with him. Danny plopped down on the couch and flipped on the television.


	3. Chapter 2

Danny stumbled into his ten o’clock history class on Friday as he fumbled with the textbooks and notebooks in his hands. Thanks to his wonderful dorm mate, he overslept and grabbed his things as he made a hasty exit from their room to run to the history building. He found an open seat to collapse onto and let his things spill out upon the desk. Glancing to the seat next to him, Danny saw a fairly pretty woman with her long red hair pulled into a ponytail. She chewed on one of her pink colored nails as she tapped her pencil on the desk with a look of utter boredom on her face. She wore a pink tank top with a sheer white, collared, long-sleeved shirt over it and a short pink skirt.

“Hey,” Danny whispered, putting on what he hoped was his most charming smile. The woman turned her head, long lashes encasing her brown eyes. Her smile faded a little when she saw who had spoken to her. “I’m Danny Fenton,” he said and shook the woman’s hand.

“Miranda Barton,” the woman responded as she tore her hand from Danny’s grip. She turned back to the front of the classroom, continuing to tap her pencil on the desk.

Danny frowned in disappointment. He leaned back in his seat, deciding to organize the clutter of his textbook and notebooks. _And another rejection for the biggest loser ever_ , Danny thought, releasing a sigh. Every woman he asked out dismissed him at first sight. Just once he wanted to meet a woman who wouldn’t judge him based on first impressions.

A loud bang caught Danny’s attention. He jerked and looked to the front of the room to see the teacher walking from the now shut door to his desk. The man slammed his briefcase on the desk, making a few students jump in their seats. He wore a blue suit with a white dress shirt beneath it. He scratched his head, shifting the very bad toupee. Danny almost laughed at it, but the teacher’s green eyes scanning the rows of students squashed that urge. This teacher looked like he would be meaner than Lancer, who Danny decided wasn’t actually all that mean in the end. Danny grew to like Lancer a little but only in the teaching aspect of his job. He hated when Lancer tried to “keep an eye” on him because of the time Jazz expressed her concern for Danny.

“I am your History 101 teacher, Professor Peghorn,” he announced before he turned to write his name on the chalkboard behind him. Danny flipped open one of his notebooks to a clean page and then searched his pockets for a pencil. He frowned when he found both pockets empty. How could he have forgotten a pencil? He reached over the aisle separating his desk from the next one and poked Miranda in the arm. She turned her head, red hair whipping around to fall over her shoulder.

“Can I borrow a pencil?” Danny whispered. Miranda rolled her eyes as she unzipped her pink pencil pouch to retrieve one of them for him. Danny opened his mouth to say “thank you” after taking the pencil from the woman’s hand, but Miranda turned away so that she faced away from Danny but still able to see the board. He sighed as he drew back to his own desk. Leaning his head in his hand, Danny began scribbling down the notes from the lecture. _It’s only the first day of classes, and we already have a lecture_ , Danny grumbled to himself, thinking he probably wouldn’t like this teacher at all.

The class became even more boring when the teacher fell silent as he drew a very bad map of Europe on the chalkboard instead of simply pulling one down from the scroll above the board. Danny opened his mouth to yawn when a small wisp of blue mist escaped and a chill ran down his back. A quick scan of the classroom showed no presence of the ghost. However, when his gaze landed on the window near the teacher’s desk, Danny sighed as he spotted an all too familiar ghost.

Muttering a curse, Danny dropped the pencil he had borrowed onto the floor and gave it a subtle kick. He glanced around, but no one seemed to notice. Pushing his chair back a little, he crawled under the desk, thanking his lucky stars that his spot happened to be in the back row. The two rings of light traveled over his body, changing him to his ghost form. Danny went invisible as he stood and checked to make sure no one had seen him change. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw everyone still bored out of their minds as the teacher went on to explain something using the map to diagram it. Danny flew to where the ghost lingered outside the classroom.

“Didn’t I throw you back into the Ghost Zone just last week?” Danny questioned, distinctly remembering that day because it had been rather difficult sneaking into his parents’ laboratory when they wouldn’t let him leave his room until he finished packing for college.

“I am the Box Ghost!” he shouted as he raised his arms over his head and attempted to look scary.

“I really don’t have time for this,” Danny muttered, glancing over his shoulder to check the time on the clock hanging above the door to the classroom. Class ended in a minute. “There aren’t even any boxes here.”

The ghost scanned the area in confusion before raising his arms again. “I am the Box Ghost. Beware!” He turned to make a quick escape. Shaking his head, Danny uncapped the Fenton Thermos and aimed it toward the ghost. A white stream of light shot out to capture the Box Ghost and sucked him into the Thermos. Danny slapped the cap back on and glared at the Thermos.

“This is becoming ridiculous,” Danny grumbled. “Why can’t my parents create a device to stop the ghosts from breaking through the Ghost Portal every week?” He released a sigh and turned back to his class to find the room empty of the other students and the teacher already. “I hope there won’t be a test on those last few minutes of class.”

Danny drifted back into the classroom and switched to human form. After he gathered his things, he made a leisurely exit from the building. His next class didn’t start for another two hours, so he had plenty of time to make a trip back to his dorm room and get organized. As he walked through the university’s campus, he saw Sam jogging toward him. He waved with his free hand, but his friend kept running and passed right by him without even seeing him. Danny frowned, watching Sam’s retreating back, as the feeling of rejection squeezed his chest. When he turned back around, he bumped into someone else.

“You should really watch where you’re going, Danny,” Tucker said as he grinned at his friend.

“Tucker!” Danny grinned back before it fell into a frown. “I thought you didn’t have any classes on this side of campus. Actually, Sam doesn’t either.”

“I had a bit of free time before my next class,” Tucker explained. “I was about to head over to your dorm when I saw you. What were you looking at?”

“Oh, Sam just ran by,” Danny answered as brow knitted and lips pursed together. “She acted like I wasn’t even there.”

“She did that to me yesterday.” Tucker shrugged, and the two of them walked toward Danny’s dorm building. “I guess she’s just exciting about being at college.”

“We are talking about Sam, right?” Danny gave his friend a look of disbelief. “If Sam’s excited about college, than we have entered the Twilight Zone. What’s next? Dash being nice to me?” They looked at each for a brief moment before both of them broke into laughter.

“How goes the hell of being Dash’s dorm mate?”

“So far no beatings,” Danny replied with a sigh. “But he keeps making me do everything. He made me move boxes, clean the dorm room. He doesn’t like me touching his stuff. He caught me watching his television and yelled at me not to use anything of his. Oh, and he expects me to do his laundry. Ew!”

Tucker shuddered at the thought of having to touch Dash’s dirty clothes. “I feel so sorry for you.” He patted Danny on the back.

“I’m apparently not allowed in the kitchen either,” Danny grumbled, glaring at the building they were approaching. “All I wanted was an apple to snack on, and he nearly ripped my head off the way he was yelling.”

“Your dorm has a kitchen?” Tucker’s eyes went wide. They entered the dorm building and headed toward the elevators. Danny pressed the up button, and they waited for the little ding to sound the arrival of the elevator. “All I have is a dinky little fridge.”

“Even though we have a kitchen, I’m still stuck eating cafeteria food because Dash is an ass and won’t let me eat anything that he bought.” Danny suppressed the urge to kick something. He didn’t think Tucker would appreciate it if Danny took his anger out on him. “And then today during my history class, the stupid Box Ghost had to make an appearance. I think he’s stalking me.”

“That is creepy on so many levels,” Tucker said and tried to rid his mind of the bad mental images that popped up at the idea of the Box Ghost stalking Danny. When they reached Danny’s dorm, they had time for relaxation and a short little chat before Tucker had to leave for his next class. Danny spent a little while surfing the net during his free time. Then he left to grab some lunch before his one o’clock Writing 101 class.

 

Danny entered his dorm room, and a delicious aroma assaulted his sense of smell. His stomach growled, feeling upset from the nasty gruel the cafeteria claimed to be food that he ate for lunch. He followed the scent to the kitchen where he found Dash drizzling dressing over the salad set beside a plate containing steak and potatoes with butter melted on top. Danny’s tongue snuck out and licked his lips, the rumbling from his stomach growing louder. The noise caught Dash’s attention, and the jock lifted his gaze toward Danny.

“You left the door open,” Dash stated; not in an angry voice but not sounding very pleased.

Danny turned around and pushed the door shut with his foot. When he faced his dorm mate again, he found Dash placing the salad dressing back into their refrigerator. His gaze fell back to the plate of food, and his mouth began to water. He wanted to reach over the counter, grab a huge glop of the potatoes, and then stuff it in his mouth. But that would only make Dash angry. He remembered the whole fight over the apple he had taken for breakfast on his way out the door that morning and cringed.

“I’ve got a date tonight,” Dash said as he tore a paper from under a magnet on the refrigerator and turned to face Danny. “Once you finish eating, fill this out. Put the dishes in the sink. And touch nothing else in the kitchen.” He handed the paper over to Danny before he walked toward the door.

“Wait!” Danny called out, making Dash pause. “You mean that food is really for me? To eat? And you won’t yell at me?”

“Yes,” Dash answered and rolled his eyes. “It’s part of my cooking class requirement. We have to cook a meal every day outside of class and have someone fill out an evaluation form. Usually everyone is paired up with another person in the cooking department, but this year there was an odd number of males. That’s how you ended up being my dorm mate.” He sneered at Danny, looking rather unhappy with the arrangement. “I’m not making meals for you because I want to. It’s just more convenient this way.” Leaving his dorm mate in silent shock, Dash walked through the door and headed off to meet his date.

The growling of stomach snapped Danny out of his shock. He grabbed the plate and bowl and carried them to the table in front of the couch in their semi-living room. After getting silverware and a glass of milk, he sat on the couch ready to watch some television while Dash was gone and unable to yell at him for it. He glanced briefly toward the door, half expecting Dash to storm back in and pummel him just for thinking about using the television. When the jock didn’t make an appearance, Danny shrugged, hitting the power button on the remote control. Then he sliced a chunk of the steak off and raised the piece to his mouth.

“Wait,” Danny mumbled as he stared at the food.

Could he really trust the food that Dash made? But the ache in his stomach wiped the thought from his mind. He was too hungry to care about whether or not Dash would poison him. He stuffed the piece of steak into his mouth, and the luscious taste exploded inside his mouth, making him moan happily. He devoured the entire meal in minutes. After he finished, Danny leaned back into the couch cushions and patted his now stuffed belly.

“Who would have guessed that Dash could actually cook such a tasty meal?” Danny mumbled. He hoped Dash would make more delicious meals like that one. His blue eyes widened as he realized what he just thought. He actually looked forward to Dash making him another meal? “That cafeteria food must be affecting my brain.”

Danny waited for a commercial break before he picked up the dishes and carried them to the sink. Then he walked into the bedroom. After grabbing a pencil from his desk, he returned to the semi-living room and flopped onto the couch again ready to fill out the evaluation form. He never realized how serious cooks took their profession. The thought made Danny pause as he chewed on his pencil. Why was Dash taking cooking classes anyway? Danny had assumed that Dash got into the university because of a football scholarship, but the jock never mentioned anything about football since they had moved into the dorm. He shook the thought out of his head and finished the form.

After watching the television for a little while, Danny retreated to the bedroom. He placed the paper on Dash’s desk then sat down at his own desk to work a little on his homework. The dorm room seemed too quiet and lonely with Dash out on a date instead of being there to yell at Danny for no reason other than the fact that Dash was a jerk. He watched the stars and the moon through the window between the two desks for a few minutes, which soon turned into hours until Danny finally decided to go to bed. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he turned off the lights in the bedroom. Then he stripped down to his boxers and flopped onto his bed pulling the blankets over him so he could drift off to sleep in a little cocoon of warmth.

Later that night, Danny woke when a fist punched his shoulder. He jerked away, rubbing his sore shoulder, as he opened his eyes. Once they adjusted to the darkness, he found Dash standing over him completely naked. His eyes grew wide as he gasped and blushed at the sight before him.

“Put some clothes on,” Danny shouted, slapping a hand over his eyes so he wouldn’t stare at the bare form.

“I happen to sleep in the nude,” Dash said with an air of superiority. “I just wanted to make sure you filled out that evaluation form.”

“Yes! I filled it out! It’s on your desk!” Danny shouted. When he heard footsteps heading away from his bed, he peeked through his fingers, watching his dorm mate walk across the room to his own bed. Holding back a whimper, he buried his head under the pillow, curling his fingers around the soft cotton covering his head while he ground his teeth in annoyance.

The next morning, Danny stumbled out of the bedroom after throwing on a random shirt. He found Dash in the kitchen, cooking what smelled like an omelet. The jock didn’t even look at his dorm mate as he dumped half the omelet on one plate and the other half on a second plate.

“You didn’t bring your date back here?” Danny asked out of curiosity.

“Why? Did you think I was going to sleep with her?” Dash muttered as he pulled out two forks, dropping one on the second plate, before he dug into his own pile of fluffy omelet. He lifted his head and smirked at Danny. “She wishes. I’m not going to sleep with a girl just seeking a way to become more popular. If I had slept with her, she would have gone off and bragged to her friends about it.”

Dash pushed away from the counter before he approached Danny in a menacing manner. Danny backed away toward their bedroom. His back met with the wall, and he gulped in fear. Then Dash’s hands punched the wall on either side of Danny’s head, making the him jump and duck his head down, too scared to meet the jock’s gaze.

“Why did you want to know? Were you hoping to catch a peek or something? Are you a little perverted voyeur?”

Danny could hear the grin stretching over the jock’s face as Dash shifted a step closer. He shook his head, black hair flopping about and tickling Dash’s chin. Danny didn’t trust his voice at the moment, not with Dash standing so close to him.

“Did you want to watch me screw some random chick? Would that turn you on; make you all hot and bothered?” Dash questioned in a low, rumbling voice. His breath washed over Danny’s face, and Dash suppressed the snicker when he saw the shudder run through his dorm mate’s body. He loved teasing Danny and seeing how the man reacted. It was the most amusing thing in the world to Dash to see Danny get embarrassed and flustered, especially when he caused that reaction. He let one of his hands slide down the wall until it met with the other man’s shoulder. The sudden contact made Danny jump, and he shoved Dash away from him.

Danny ran into the bedroom, slamming the door in Dash’s face. He pressed his back against the door and then collapsed to the floor. He buried his face in his hands, trying to will away the blush that felt like it covered his entire body. The situation had brought the memory of their last day at school screaming to the front of his mind. His body had reacted strangely then too, and Danny didn’t know how to explain it.

“I expect my laundry cleaned by the time I return from the grocery store,” Dash called through the door.

Danny could hear amusement in the jock’s voice. He listened as Dash walked toward the door to their room, opened it, and slammed it shut as he left. A scared whimper escaped him when he recalled what he saw last night. He could remember Dash’s naked form illuminated with the soft glow from the moonlight streaming in through a crack in the curtains on their window.

“I have to get that image out of my mind,” Danny muttered. “Think of someone else. Sam. Beautiful, intelligent Sam.”

The image of Sam was quickly replaced by the image of Dash from the previous night. Danny banged his head back against the door, muttering about how wrong it was for that image to remain in his head. He had to think of something else to quell the odd heat rising in his body. The image of the Box Ghost popped into his mind, and Danny almost gagged when he realized the Box Ghost was wearing nothing but a thong. He lifted his head and blinked when he felt nothing from the image.

“Ewww! Now I’m going to have that stuck in my head!” Danny groaned in disgust, but he decided that was better than having a strange reaction to seeing a naked Dash. He stood, glaring at the basket of dirty laundry near Dash’s bed. Why did he have to do everything the dumb jock ordered him to do? Oh, right, because an angry Dash equaled Danny becoming a bloody meat paddy. He grabbed the basket, carrying it out of the dorm room and down the hall to the laundry room.


	4. Chapter 3

“So how’s life with the great Dash Baxter?” Tucker asked, suppressing his snickers. His question received a glare in response. It had been months since they last spoke on the topic of Danny’s roommate situation.

“I would rather be fighting the toughest ghost there is than continue living with Dash,” Danny grumbled, stirring his drink with a straw. “Can we not talk about the hell my life has become?”

“I see no bruises. So I assume he’s not beating you up every chance he gets.”

“Tucker, I really don’t feel like talking about it,” Danny warned. “So, Sam,” he started, turning to face his other best friend. He stopped when he saw Sam was too engrossed with her new boyfriend. He had never seen Sam giggle before now. A smile crept onto Danny’s face. He was happy to see Sam find someone to love and who could love her back. After one date in their junior year, Sam and Danny decided to stay as good friends instead of trying to become something more.

“Come on, Danny. After all this time, there must be some juicy fact about Dash’s private life that we can use to humiliate him,” Tucker continued despite Danny’s warning.

“There’s nothing, Tucker. Even if there was, I wouldn’t tell you. If Dash found out I said anything about his private life, I’ll have my ass handed to me on a silver platter. Now drop it, Tucker.”

Before Tucker could ask more questions about Danny’s life with Dash, Danny’s cell phone rang. Actually, the cell phone belonged to Dash, but Danny decided not to tell the others that little fact.

“Hello,” Danny answered though he already knew who was on the other end. The only people he had given to the number to were already sitting with him.

“Fenton, where are you?” Dash demanded, and Danny flinched at the anger. “I told you to come to my class immediately after yours.”

“Oh no,” Danny gasped. “That was today! I totally forgot.” Danny slapped his forehead. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Danny shut off the cell phone. “Sorry, but I gotta go,” Danny told Tucker and Sam.

“But we’ve only been here for five minutes,” Sam said, frowning, as she turned her attention away from her boyfriend.

“I know, but I promised to help a friend with his class,” Danny said with an apologetic look on his face. “I’ll see you later.” Grabbing his bag, Danny left the little diner. He jogged to the other side of campus where Dash’s class was located. When he reached the classroom, he was panting and holding his aching side.

“How could you forget, Fenton?” Dash inquired with his arms folded across his chest. He looked more disappointed than angry about Danny’s lateness.

“Sorry. I bumped into Tucker and Sam after my class,” Danny explained. “I haven’t seen them in months because of our hectic class schedules.”

“Oh, then I’m so sorry for dragging you away from your precious friends,” Dash muttered, banging pots and pans as he moved them to the sink to be washed.

“What is your problem, Dash? I said I was sorry about forgetting. And I’m so sorry if wanting to spend time with my friends is such a sin in your opinion,” Danny shouted. “Do you think you own me or something? Is that why you gave me the cell phone? Just so you can keep tabs on me? I’m your roommate, not some little slave to run around doing your every beck and call.”

“Forget it, Fenton. Just leave. The food’s gotten cold so it won’t taste any good,” Dash muttered as he cleaned the pots and pans that he had used during his cooking class.

“Fine. Whatever. Seven months of being dorm mates, and he still can’t be nice to me for even one second,” Danny grumbled as he left. “And I was being nice by agreeing to be his taste tester and filling out all those stupid evaluations.” Danny thought of going back to the diner to see if Tucker and Sam were still there. But he was too angry with Dash to be good company, so he decided to return to his dorm room.

 

_I keep messing this up_ , Dash thought as he finished putting away the pots and pans. _This is all because I’m too much of a coward to come out and say “I like you” to him_. Dash folded his apron and placed it on the counter at his station.

“I don’t know what to do. I’ve wasted these seven months. He still hates me,” Dash mumbled, letting out a tired sigh. “Thanks so much for the advice, Kwan. It’s done so well for me so far.” He wished his friend hadn’t chosen to go to a college so far away from Casper University. He needed a friend that he could actually trust to talk with.

Dash gathered up his stuff and left the building. When he returned to the dorm room, he found Danny lying on his bed with his nose in a book. Dash set a Tupperware container on the nightstand by Danny’s bed. Then he sat down at his desk to start his homework.

“What’s that?” Danny asked grumpily, not bothering to look at it.

“A piece of the cake I made yesterday,” Dash answered as he wrote out a math problem. “I kept a piece of it for you to have with the meal I made today.”

Danny set his book aside and picked up the Tupperware. Popping the top off, he stared at the piece of cake. _Damn it. He acts like a jerk most of the time, and then he has these moments where he’s actually nice to me. It makes it impossible to stay mad at him_ , Danny thought with a small smile. _I guess in the end he really isn’t all that bad_.

“Am I supposed to eat this with my fingers?” Danny joked, grinning over at the jock.

“Dork,” Dash responded with a snort as he stood. He grabbed a fork from their kitchen and handed it to Danny. “It’s not like you couldn’t get up to get a fork yourself.”

“Why do what other people will do for you?” Danny countered and took a bite of the chocolate cake. “This is really good.”

_Perhaps the way to Danny’s heart_ is _through his stomach_ , Dash thought as he sat at his desk. A smile broke onto his face. “Will you still come to be my taste tester?” he asked Danny, who was still happily eating the piece of cake.

“Only if you won’t act like a jerk if I forget because I meet up with Tucker and Sam who I never get to see anymore since we entered college.” Danny looked over at Dash, waiting to see how the jock would respond. Dash may have his nice moments, but Danny didn’t put it past him to revert back into his bully ways.

“Fine. I’ll try not to act like a jerk,” Dash replied. _Since I want you to like me_ , he added to himself before returning his attention to his math homework.

After finishing off the rest of the cake, Danny took the Tupperware and fork into the kitchen. He cleaned them and set them in the bin to dry. Dash still didn’t like when Danny touched his things, but he never complained when Danny washed the dishes. _I guess when it comes to chores_ , he would rather have me do them, Danny thought with a sigh.

He walked back to the bedroom and stood in the doorway, staring at Dash’s back. Part of Danny wanted to ask why the jock was even taking cooking classes. The man knew how to cook, obviously, but Casper University wasn’t known for having a good football team. Why would Dash want to attend a college that had a terrible football team? He could have gotten into much better colleges on a football scholarship. Danny decided Dash wouldn’t appreciate him prying into his private affairs, so he let the topic drop from his mind. He walked back to his bed and flopped down on it, picking up the book he had been reading.

“Maybe you should teach me to cook,” Danny joked as he opened his book. “Then maybe I can impress girls.”

Dash snorted as he turned around to face Danny. “You would need far more skills than just cooking to impress a girl.” He smirked at the frown Danny gave him. “Tell me. Just how many dates have you been on? And that Goth chick friend of yours doesn’t count.”

“S-Shut up!” Danny argued, trying to blush out of embarrassment. “You’re not god’s gift to girls, you know.”

“Hey, I can’t help if I’m hot and the girls flock to me.” Dash smirked smugly, receiving a roll of the eyes and a head shake from Danny. “But seriously, how many?”

“Pfft, like I’m telling you,” Danny grumbled as he rolled onto his side so that his back faced Dash. _You’d only laugh at me_ , he thought with a frown before trying to finish reading the book for class.


	5. Chapter 4

“So how does it taste?” Dash asked as Danny finished off the last bit of the meal the jock had prepared. Danny practically licked the platter clean, leaving not even a speck of food on the plate.

“Everything was great! But it seemed like there was something missing from the dessert,” Danny answered, frowning since he couldn’t put his finger on why the taste was off on the tiramisu.

“I’m surprised you noticed,” Dash stated with a smirk. “I left out the ground pecans because, well, you never know who’s allergic to nuts.”

“If that’s the case, then it was great,” Danny said, grinning up at the jock turned cook. “I’m allergic to them so it’s a good thing you left them out.”

_You think I didn’t notice you were allergic to nuts?_ Dash thought as he put the dishes in the sink.

“Do the dishes later. I need to show you how to do the laundry,” Danny said, picking up one of the baskets by the door.

“Oh, come on, Fenton! Why do I need to learn this?” Dash complained but took the second basket on his way out of the dorm room.

“Because next year you might not be lucky enough to room with someone nice enough to do your laundry,” Danny answered. _Why can’t he call me by my first name? Are we still not good enough friends for that?_ Danny wondered, but he doubted Dash really even considered them to be friends. “So you’ll need to be able to do this on your own.” They entered their floor’s laundry room and set the baskets on the ground. “Now, I’ve already separated the clothes into lights and darks.”

Dash nodded along but didn’t pay attention to Danny’s explanation. He had already learned how to do the laundry, but he never felt like doing it so he let Danny handle it. _The year’s almost over_ , Dash thought sadly. _Things are finally going well between us. I don’t want to ruin it by saying something. But if I stay silent, I’ll miss my chance. After this, we might not see each other again. But if I say something, will it freak him out?_

“And that’s all you have to do,” Danny finished explaining and turned to face Dash.

“It seems so complex,” Dash lied, his brow knitting like he had to think hard to understand what Danny told him. After four years of pretending to be an idiot, acting like he thought laundry was a difficult task was a cinch. Danny fell for the trick, releasing a tired sigh.

“It’s not that hard, Dash.”

“I have an idea,” Dash said, hopping off the dryer. “Instead of teaching me how to do the laundry, why don’t we be roommates again next year? That way you can continue to do the laundry for me.” Dash grinned at his ingenious plan that sprung up in his mind all of a sudden.

“But there’s no guarantee that we’ll end up as dorm mates next year,” Danny stated with a frown.

Dash sighed and bopped Danny on the head. “I meant we should rent an apartment next year.” His happy demeanor faded away when Danny continued to frown. “I thought we were getting along pretty well now.”

“We are,” Danny replied immediately, but the uncertain expression remained on his face. “Let me think about it, okay?” Danny glanced at the clock on the wall behind Dash. “I gotta go now. I have a date to get ready for.”

“A date?” Dash repeated lamely. _Since when does Danny date?_ Dash screamed in his mind. For the whole year, not once had he seen Danny go on a date.

“Yeah, with a girl in my history class,” Danny answered, grinning and looking proud of himself for getting a date. “We started talking in class today and really hit it off. Um, at least try to do the laundry. I’ll see you when I get back.” Danny jogged out of the laundry room, heading back to their dorm room to get changed.

Dash stood speechless in the laundry room. How could Danny have gotten a date? Girls always seemed to be repelled by him. Dash kicked the empty basket, relieving only a small portion of his anger. He thought girls weren’t a threat since Danny had never managed to get a date in high school. He thought if he could get Danny to like him as a friend, maybe things would progress naturally. With a heavy sigh, Dash threw the second load of laundry into another washing machine. Then he sat on a dryer waiting for them to finish since he had nothing better to do.

Pulling out his cell phone, Dash dialed a number and held to his ear, waiting for it to be answered. “Hey, man,” he greeted. “I need help. He’s on a date.”

A sigh followed. “Dude, just tell him already,” Kwan said. “He’s never going to figure it out if you keep staying quiet. Either he’ll fall madly in love with you or he’ll kick you in the groin. But either way, it will end this torture you’re putting yourself through.”

“Gee, thanks for the help,” Dash grumbled, glaring at the wall.

“I’ve been watching you do this to yourself for years, Dash,” Kwan said flatly. “And I really hate seeing you like this.”

“Fine,” Dash muttered, raking a hand through his hair. “I’ll come up with something. So how’s college life treating you?”

“Dude! You should see the stuff I’m working on,” Kwan answered, suddenly becoming cheerier.

Dash rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh. Kwan always got excited when it came to babbling on about his latest project.

 

“So what dorm are you in?” Danny asked as he walked around the campus with his date. “I’ll walk you back.” So far, the date had gone wonderfully. The woman really seemed to be interested in him. _Finally_ , he thought, trying not to show just how happy he was. _Finally, a girl that actually likes me_.

“But the night is still young,” Miranda replied flirtatiously. She grinned, staring at Danny expectantly.

“Is there something else you wanted to do?” Danny asked, his brow creasing in thought. They had eaten at a small diner since he couldn’t afford anything more expensive. Then they saw a movie, and now they were walking around the part of campus that looked more like a park. Wasn’t this where a date was supposed to end?

“Aren’t you going to invite me up to your room?” Miranda leaned up against him.

“This is our first date. Isn’t it a bit soon for that?” Danny’s voice cracked, a small blush coloring his cheeks as indecent thoughts floated through his mind.

“But I’m just dying to see the dorm room of the Great Dash Baxter from Casper High,” Miranda responded, giggling, as she walked toward Danny’s dorm building.

“What… did you say?” Danny stopped and hoped he didn’t hear what he thought he did.

“Dash Baxter is your dorm mate, right? I always wanted to see what his room looked like,” Miranda said gushing, cheeks red with embarrassment.

“Is it just his room you want to see? Or are you hoping to hook up with Dash?” Danny demanded, anger welling up inside him.

“Getting to see Dash would be like icing on the cake.”

“Did you only agree to a date with me because I’m Dash’s dorm mate?”

“Well, you’re a nice guy, Danny. But I can’t see you as boyfriend material.”

Danny seethed with so much rage that he couldn’t even say anything back to her. He wasn’t boyfriend material? What was that supposed to mean? Was there no girl who would like him? Was he going to be single for the rest of his life? Ignoring Miranda’s pleads to let her see Dash, Danny slammed the door in her face. Dash glanced up from his book as Danny came in and collapsed on his bed.

“You’re such a jerk, Danny Fenton,” Miranda shouted, kicking the door. “I’m going to make sure every girl on campus never talks to you again.”

“Sam’s the only girl who will talk to me anyway,” Danny muttered as he glared at the ceiling.

“Should I even bother asking what happened?” Dash questioned. He set his book aside and sat up to face his dorm mate. “I thought you said you two really hit it off in class.”

“Why are you so damn popular?” Danny demanded, shooting up to a sitting position and turning his glare on Dash.

“What does my popularity have to do with anything?”

“Miranda only agreed to go on a date with me because she hoped I would invite her back here and then she would hook up with you. The few times girls paid attention to me was because I’m the dorm mate of the Great Dash Baxter. What do I have to do to get a girl to like me for me and not because I’m your dorm mate?” Danny shouted in frustration.

“Just be yourself,” Dash suggested with a shrug.

“That hasn’t worked yet. I should just give up and accept my fate of eternal loneliness.” Danny sighed and flopped back on his bed.

“Perhaps you should think about broadening your options.” Dash lay back on his bed, returning to his book.

Danny fell silent before Dash’s meaning sank in, and his jaw dropped. He shot up again and stared at Dash in disbelief. “Are you suggesting I should look for a _boyfriend_?”

“I’m just saying that option’s there if you want to explore it. Instead of asking a girl out for the sake of having a girlfriend, why don’t you wait until you find someone who really makes you feel something? Ignore gender and let your heart guide you.” Dash glanced at the speechless Danny, who wore a look of shock on his face. “What’s with that expression?”

“I’m just surprised that you’re so open to homosexuality,” Danny mumbled, a bit ashamed for thinking Dash would be so narrow-minded.

“I’m not like my father,” Dash grumbled as he rolled away from Danny.

“You’re a lot different from how I always imagined you would be. Once you stopped acting like a jerk most of the time, living with you has been kind of fun. It would have been a lot better if you had been nicer the first seven months.” Danny leaned back against the wall, drawing his legs up against his chest.

“I was afraid of letting you, or anyone for that matter, see the true me. I didn’t exactly have the happiest childhood. Opening up to people is very difficult for me so I push people away.” Dash turned around to face Danny. “Have you thought about what I said before?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about another guy in that way before,” Danny stuttered, and Dash chuckled at his response.

“I actually meant about renting an apartment together next year.”

“Oh,” Danny replied dumbly, a blush tingeing his cheeks.

“So you’ve never even been a little curious about what it’s like being with another guy?”

“No, I haven’t. Have you?”

“Yes,” Dash answered simply as he flipped the page in his book.

That got Danny’s attention. His eyes widened as his brows shot up. Dash had previously had thoughts about homosexuality? “Have you ever like, you know, experimented with another guy?” Danny inquired, sitting on the edge of his bed. Dash had never spoken this openly to him.

“No, I never really had anyone I trusted enough to tell them about these thoughts. Except maybe Kwan, but he was always interested in girls.” Dash looked away from his book to Danny. “Did you decide to consider homosexuality as a possibility?”

“Well… it would be better than spending my life alone, I guess,” Danny replied and looked away, shifting uncomfortably on his bed. Why did Dash have to bring this up? Now Danny couldn’t stop thinking about the idea. Danny’s gaze drifted back to Dash. When their eyes met, Danny felt his heart skip a beat. “I’m going for a walk,” Danny mumbled, heading to the door. _What was that I just felt?_ Danny wondered as he left the dorm room.

_Please tell me I didn’t just scare him away_ , Dash thought with a frown as he stared at the door to their room.


	6. Chapter 5

“Where’s Tucker?” Sam asked as she sat across from Danny in the booth at the small diner on campus.

“I’m not sure how he’ll react to what I need to talk to you about,” Danny said, staring into his drink like it was more fascinating than Sam. “I wouldn’t want him to spread this around.”

“Wow! This must be serious,” Sam said in surprise. She leaned forward on the table between them. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Danny sighed and raised his gaze to Sam. _She looks as beautiful as always_ , Danny thought with a grim smile. _No, we tried already. We can’t be anything more than friends. Plus, she’s happy with Tom_. Danny gave a slight shake of his head of his head to rid him of past feelings.

“Last night, I went on a date with Miranda from my history class,” Danny started, still trying to figure how to say what he wanted to tell her. The idea of telling Sam had been so much easier in his head.

“Miranda? That red head? But she has a major crush on Dash. Why would she go on a date with you?” Sam raised a brow; confusion plastered on her face.

“Yeah, I unfortunately didn’t realize that until after going on the date with her. She planned to use me to get Dash.” Danny took a long sip of his drink. “The first time a girl says yes to me since our date, and it was only to use me.” Danny released a bitter laugh. “I tried to blame it on Dash. I’m so sick of being the loser, the guy no one likes.”

“Danny, what did you really want to talk to me about?” Sam questioned, placing a hand over Danny’s hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“I,” Danny mumbled, staring at their hands. Hesitantly, he withdrew his hand. “I was wondering if you would go to a gay club with me.” He had done a little researching and discovered there was a pretty well known club not too far off campus.

“Did you just say gay club?” Sam’s brow knitted, and she wondered if Danny was feeling okay.

“I would go by myself, but I would probably chicken out.” Danny poked at the knife on the table with a fork.

“Why do you want to go to a gay club?” Sam didn’t mind the idea of homosexuality, but she never imagined Danny would consider it.

“Well, um,” Danny scratched the back of his neck. “After the date, Dash and I got to talking about some things. And Dash suggested that maybe I should consider getting a boyfriend since I have such rotten luck with girls.”

“Dash put this idea into your head?” Sam stared at her friend with wide eyes when Danny nodded. “I never would have thought Dash was so open-minded.”

“Yeah, I was shocked too.” Danny chuckled. “But since last night, I haven’t been able to get the idea out of my mind. So I thought maybe if I checked out a gay club, I might get a better idea of whether or not I’m gay.”

“Just because you can’t get a girlfriend doesn’t make you gay, Danny,” Sam told him seriously.

“Well, it’s not entirely about the girlfriend thing.” A light blush tinged Danny’s cheeks. “Right before I left last night, I looked into Dash’s eyes and got this weird feeling. It reminded me of something that happened last year.” He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. He had never actually told Sam about what happened. “Dash returned my missing yearbook to me. He was standing really close to me, and for a moment, I really thought he would kiss me. The idea scared me, but a small part of me felt really excited about it.”

“You’re not falling for Dash, are you?” Sam asked with a frown. “He was such a jerk to you in high school.”

“He’s not that bad anymore,” Danny argued. He blushed again when he realized he had just defended Dash. “But that’s not the point. It really got me thinking that maybe I am attracted to guys. So will you help a friend out here? I just want to check it out.”

“I don’t know,” Sam said uncertainly. “I don’t think that’s the best way to find out if you’re gay or not.”

“Just this once,” Danny pleaded. “We don’t even have to stay that long. It’ll just be a quick visit.”

“Fine,” Sam replied, sighing in defeat. “But don’t expect to find anyone to have an actual relationship with while you’re there.”

“You’re the best, Sam!” Danny grinned as he leaned over to kiss Sam on the cheek. “I’ll see you later tonight then.” He waved to her before leaving the diner.

Sam shook her head. “This is the last thing I would have expected Danny to ask me to do.”

 

“Are you sure I look okay in this?” Danny asked uncertainly as they walked through the dim hallway to the club’s main room. He hated tight clothes, and that was exactly what Sam forced him to wear. The low cut leather pants hugged his hips uncomfortably, and the navy blue shirt felt like a second skin.

“Danny, don’t worry so much. You look great,” Sam assured him. “The guys will be lining up to ask you out, so don’t be shy.” She grinned and pushed him into the crowd of dancing men and women. She watched in amusement as Danny struggled not to get trampled on by everyone. She hoped this wasn’t as terrible an idea as she believed it was.

Danny weaved his way through the crowd, apologizing when he bumped into people. _Maybe Sam is right_ , he thought before feeling someone grab his hand.

“Are you new here, cutie?” the man asked as he dragged Danny away before he got squashed amongst the crowd.

“Uh, yeah,” Danny whispered, but it went unheard because of the loud music.

“Mind if I cut in?” another man asked as he grabbed Danny’s arm.

“No way, Brad! I spotted him first,” the first man said angrily, yanking Danny back to him.

“Choose another victim, Derek,” Brad stated with a glare. He ripped Danny from the other man’s grip. Leaving Derek standing alone and angry, Brad dragged Danny toward the other side of the club. “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “I’m Brad.”

“Da-Danny,” he mumbled, unsure of what he should be feeling at the moment. His head spun over the idea of two men fighting over him. He never had women fighting over him, except that one time when he was chosen to be a judge at the beauty pageant.

“Well, Da-Danny,” Brad said as he grinned. “I've never seen you here before, so I assume you’re new to the whole gay scene.” Danny nodded, blushing like mad at the sight of Brad’s smile. “Then it’s a good thing I came to rescue you. Derek’s a bad choice for a newbie. He would just use you for a quick lay, and he wouldn’t be gentle with you. So how old are you, Danny?”

“Nineteen,” Danny answered, a little distracted by Brad’s arms wrapping around him.

“You’re still pretty young then.” Brad placed his hands on Danny’s hips, making them sway a little to the music. “I turn twenty-eight next week.”

Danny blinked wide eyes. He was getting hit on by a man nearly a decade older than he.

“I see you’re shocked. Didn’t think someone so much older than you would find you attractive?”

“I haven’t had many good experiences in the romance department,” Danny explained with a weak smile. “I’ve been shot down by a lot of girls.”

“Well, I think you’re very attractive,” Brad whispered into Danny’s ear.

Danny blushed as Brad’s breath washed over his ear. When their eyes met, Danny felt his heart beat faster. It was different than when he caught Dash’s gaze the other night. Brad leaned closer. Their lips barely brushed together before Danny turned his head away.

“But I guess you don’t find me to be the same,” Brad mumbled, sounding disappointed.

“No, that’s not it. You are really attractive,” Danny assured the older man.

“Am I moving too fast for you then?”

“No,” Danny replied as his brow knitted in confusion.

“You have another guy in mind?” Brad asked as he stroked Danny’s cheek.

“I’m just not used to this, I guess,” Danny answered with a shrug. For some reason, he felt guilty about being in this situation.

Brad tried again, and this time landed a kiss on Danny's lips. Danny’s eyes slipped shut as he returned the kiss. But the guilt kept nagging at him.

 

“Danny, it’s getting late,” Sam told her friend when she finally found him. Danny looked at her from his seat in one of the booths. He glanced at his watch, eyes going wide when he saw the time.

“I gotta go, Brad,” Danny said, turning toward the man who he sat with at the booth.

“So soon?” Brad questioned with a frown.

“I have class in five hours, and I _really_ need to sleep,” Danny told him as a pout formed on his face. He was having fun talking with Brad with a few kisses here and there.

“I understand. Stop by the club again sometime,” Brad said. He pulled Danny into a kiss before letting him leave. Danny waved, a little giddy from all the kisses, while Sam dragged him away. They left the club, and Danny sighed as a refreshing burst of cool night air hit him.

“So are you?” Sam inquired, nudging Danny in the ribs, as they walked back to the university.

“You’re not going to hate me, are you?” Danny asked nervously.

“Danny, I just spent five hours fending off women while you had a make out session with a guy who looked like he was ten years older than you. Do I look like I hate you? So you are then?”

“Yeah, I think I am,” Danny answered, blushing as he finally admitted the truth.

Sam smiled happily for her friend before it turned into a frown. “So are you going to see Brad again?”

“I don’t think so.” Danny shrugged. “I mean, yeah, we had a great time, great kisser, but he’s twenty-eight. I know age shouldn’t make that much of a difference, but he kept talking about stuff I don’t know anything about. It kind of made me feel stupid. I think I want to find someone closer to my age, someone who has more things in common with me, not just a physical attraction.”

“Good for you, Danny,” Sam said as she patted him on the back. “I’m glad to see you’re over the Paulina complex.”

“Ha ha, very funny, Sam,” Danny muttered but still laughed. “Thanks for coming with me though.”

“Anything for my friends. I’ll see you later.” They parted ways, heading in opposite directions toward their dorms.

When he got back to his dorm room, Danny collapsed onto his bed. He buried his face into his pillow with a silly smile plastered on his face. It felt like a weight had been lifted now that he discovered the real reason he couldn’t get a girlfriend.

Wrapped up in his own happy little world, Danny didn’t realize his entrance had woken up his dorm mate. Dash stared at the back of Danny’s head with a frown set on his face. He hadn’t seen Danny all day, which had worried him, and then Danny didn’t return until four in the morning. In two weeks, school would end for the year, and they would no longer be dorm mates. With a miserable sigh, Dash rolled over and went back to sleep.


	7. Chapter 6

“Fenton,” Dash whispered in his dorm mate’s ear as he shook the man’s shoulder. Danny moaned and rolled over, bumping his head into the wall.

“Ow!” Danny sat up, rubbing his head. “What time is it?”

“Eight,” Dash answered, staring at the sleepy man.

“I still have another hour,” Danny groaned and flopped back into his pillow. “Wake me up later.”

“Fenton,” Dash started but then noticed Danny had fallen asleep again. Releasing a sigh, Dash ran his hand through Danny’s hair. Then he noticed something on Danny’s neck. He brushed his fingers over the mark before his eyes widened in realization. Tightly gripping his dorm mate’s shoulders, Dash shook Danny awake again.

“Let me sleep, Dash,” Danny grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his tired eyes.

“You have a hickey on your neck. Where did you go last night?” Dash demanded.

“Sam and I went to a gay club.” Danny climbed off his bed, muttering about stupid tight clothes. Now that he was more awake, he realized just how uncomfortable he was sleeping in the clothes from the previous night.

“You went to a gay club and let some guy you don’t even know drool all over you?” Dash tried to ask calmly, but he could feel the hatred for that guy rising up in him. There was also a part of him that was jealous of the guy. Dash couldn’t get up the courage to tell Danny he liked him, and this guy got to make out with Danny.

“Okay. It might not have been the greatest idea, but it never went past kissing… and a little touching.” Danny blushed as he yanked off his shirt. “But I now know that I’m definitely attracted to guys.” His goofy grin faltered when he turned back to Dash. “This won’t make things weird between us now that I know I’m gay, right?”

“Of course not,” Dash answered as he cleared his throat. _Why are you torturing me?_ Dash’s mind screamed as his gaze trailed down Danny’s exposed torso.

“Good. Even though you said you were okay with homosexuality, I was afraid you might feel weird rooming with a gay guy.” Danny grabbed the milk from their refrigerator. “But don’t worry about me hitting on you or anything. I wonder how Tucker will react.” Danny frowned as he poured a glass of milk.

“Danny,” Dash said, standing and walking toward his dorm mate.

Danny knocked over his glass when he turned to the jock. Dash froze as their eyes met. _I knew it_ , Dash thought grimly. _I still can’t say it. I can’t tell him. Even though he knows he’s gay, that doesn’t mean he’ll fall for me_.

“I’ve got to get to class now,” Dash mumbled, walking out the door.

“Weird,” Danny thought out loud with a confused expression on his face. “Dash’s class doesn’t start until nine-thirty. Wait! He called me Danny instead of Fenton.” Danny’s eyes grew wide in shock. “He couldn’t, could he?” Danny grabbed a rag and started cleaning up the spilled milk. “I might though,” Danny mumbled as he sighed. “Stupid dreams. Why did you have to make me think about him like that? I don’t want to ruin this. He’s finally acting nice to me, like we’re friends.” Images from his dream flashed through his mind. Instead of Brad dancing with him and kissing him, in the dream it was Dash. “I should go look for Tucker and Sam before class starts,” Danny muttered as he started to change into his normal clothes.

 

“You’re what?” Tucker questioned, jaw slack in shock and eyes wide.

“Gay. I’m attracted to guys,” Danny replied. He ran into Tucker right as he walked out of his class and dragged his best friend to a secluded area. He decided to tell Tucker right away instead of hiding it. After all, best friends told each other everything. Tucker started pacing back and forth. Danny chewed on his lower lip, now worried about his friend’s reaction.

“We’ve known each other for years!” Tucker exclaimed, arms gesturing wildly. “How can you suddenly decide to be gay? I can’t believe it. You’ve always liked girls!”

“No, I was desperately seeking out someone who would love me of the female persuasion,” Danny argued. “But what girl has ever liked me? I was curious about homosexuality so Sam and I went to a gay club last night. Being with another guy felt so much better than the three dates I’ve ever been on with girls. You’re my friend so I didn’t feel it would be right to keep this from you.”

“Went to a gay club?” Tucker turned on his friend, but Danny couldn’t place the emotion in his eyes. “You didn’t actually do it with some strange guy?”

“No,” Danny shouted, feeling offended. “I’m not some kind of male whore. I’m not going to sleep with someone I just met. Geez, I thought you would accept me for who I am since you’re my friend.” Danny started to walk away when Tucker grabbed his arm.

“Wait, Danny. I’m sorry,” Tucker said, and Danny clearly saw the apologetic look in his eyes. “That was stupid of me. It’s just this is so sudden. Still friends?”

“Of course,” Danny replied with a grin. Silence fell over them while they stared into each other eyes. Tucker stepped closer, wetting his dry lips with his tongue. Danny froze in shock as Tucker kept leaning closer and closer. “Tucker, what are you doing? You’re straight.”

“I know,” Tucker whispered, trapping Danny against the wall. “But a part of me always wanted to kiss you. I was afraid you would freak out if I ever tried.”

“Tucker, don’t play with me,” Danny deadpanned, glaring at his friend.

“Aw, man! Your face when you thought I wanted to kiss you.” Tucker laughed, tears nearly spilling from his eyes. Danny rolled his eyes with a small smirk. If Tucker could joke about it like that, it meant he was perfectly okay with Danny’s sexual preference.

“Fenton!” Both men stiffened when they heard Dash’s voice. They broke apart and saw the man come from around the corner of the building.

“Dash,” Danny said, blinking in confusion. “You didn’t have your cooking class today.” He wondered why Dash was looking for him.

“I wanted to ask you something,” Dash answered, glaring at Tucker.

“I’ll see you later, Danny,” Tucker said, giving Danny a pat on the back, before running away from Dash.

“What did you want to ask me?” Danny inquired with a forced smile. His heart began beating faster in his chest as he gazed into Dash’s eyes.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go see Dead Teacher IX when it comes out,” Dash said, hiding the nervousness in his voice with hope shining in his eyes.

“I normally see Dead Teacher with Tucker and Sam,” Danny mumbled. He felt a sudden pang in his heart when he saw the disappointed expression on Dash’s face. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t see it with you too,” Danny added quickly.

“Great. We can go next Saturday,” Dash kept his cool on the outside. However, his inner self cheered with joy. “Doesn’t your class start in ten minutes?”

“Oh crap! Thanks for reminding me.” Danny jogged away, heading for the building housing his next class. He had been so wrapped up in how Tucker would react that he had totally forgotten about his class.

“Mister Fenton, this is the fifth time this month that you’ve been late,” his teacher, Professor Peghorn, stated loudly when Danny tried to sneak into the classroom.

“Sorry, sir. It won’t happen again,” Danny apologized before taking his seat.

“If it does, I might have to fail you. Now continuing with the lesson.”

“Hey, Miranda, can I see your notes after class?” Danny asked politely despite his dislike for the girl. Miranda sat next to him and was pretty much the only one in his history class that ever talked to him.

“Don’t talk to me,” Miranda snapped as she turned her head away and blocked his view of her notes.

“Don’t be a bitch just because I didn’t let you meet Dash,” Danny snapped back in anger.

“The only reason you didn’t want me to meet Dash was because you’re a little fag who’s lusting after his dorm mate. Why did you even ask me out, loser fag?”

“I am not lusting after Dash,” Danny growled, pounding his fist on the desk. Not when we had our date anyway, he thought.

“Mister Fenton, please keep it down. I’m trying to teach,” Peghorn stated warningly.

“You didn’t deny that you’re gay,” Miranda stated as she smirked at him.

“My sexuality isn’t any of your business,” Danny shouted.

“Mister Fenton, please stop disrupting the class,” Peghorn shouted as he slammed his teacher’s book on his desk.

“I can’t believe I even wanted to date a whore like you,” Danny sneered at Miranda.

“Well, Dash isn’t gay so why don’t you stop hogging him to yourself? Even if he was gay, which he isn’t, he wouldn’t want someone like you, loser fag!”

The room fell silent after the loud slap echoed in the room. The other students stared at the pair. Miranda now sported a red hand print on her cheek, and Danny’s face was red in anger.

“Mister Fenton,” Peghorn shouted into the silent room, finally getting the man’s attention. “I want to see you in my office after class. Until then, I don’t want to see you, so get out of my classroom.” He pointed toward to the door.

Shooting a final glare at Miranda, Danny gathered his things before stomping out of the room, slamming the door. He heard the class break into murmurs and the teacher try to regain control over the class.

_Why did that piss me off so much?_ Danny wondered as he walked through the hallway. He left the building and headed back to his dormitory. _Because she reminded me that Dash would never like me in that way? But I don’t actually like Dash in that way. Right? I’m so confused about what I’m feeling right now_. Danny rubbed his pounding head as he walked down the hall to his dorm room. When he entered, he froze at the sight of Dash doing sit-ups in nothing but his gym shorts. _But he does have an amazing body_ , Danny thought with a light blush as an odd feeling churned in his gut. Dash paused in his exercising. He stared in Danny’s direction but seemed to look right through his dorm mate.

“That’s strange,” Dash mumbled as he stood. He walked past the other man to close the door. Danny blinked, wondering why Dash ignored him. He glanced down at his body.

_Crap! I went invisible!_ Danny panicked and ran through the wall out of their dorm room. _Why did my powers act up?_ Danny wondered as he became visible again. _I can’t be falling for Dash, right?_ Closing his eyes, Danny leaned against the wall. After a while, he let out a sigh, and a wisp of blue mist escaped his mouth. All thoughts about Dash vanished from his mind at a possible ghost attack. Danny’s eyes shot open. He glanced around the hallway but saw no sign of a ghost. Danny frowned and scanned the hallway once more before he shrugged. Walking away from his dorm room, he checked his watch. _Time for the wonderful meeting with Professor Peghorn_ , Danny thought grimly.


	8. Chapter 7

“Don’t you usually have class right now?” Sam asked the man sitting across from her at the small diner.

Danny sighed as he pulled off his sunglasses but left on the blue hat. “I got kicked out of history class for tardiness, constant disruption of the class, and inflicting bodily harm upon another student,” Danny grumbled, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand. “That stupid bitch! Miranda spread it to the whole school that I’m gay.” He lowered his head onto the table, feeling exhausted. “I’ve been bullied even worse this week than in high school. Plus, I think a ghost is lurking around the campus. But as soon as I sense it, it’s gone.”

“Tomorrow’s Saturday. Let’s call up Tucker and do a little ghost hunting,” Sam suggested. “We haven’t hunted ghosts all year - well, together anyway.”

“I wish I could, but I kind of already made plans for tomorrow,” Danny said, smiling weakly.

“What plans?” Sam questioned, her brow arching in a demanding manner.

“Um, I’m going with Dash to see Dead Teacher IX.” Danny winced prematurely, waiting for Sam’s angry rant.

“So let me get this straight,” Sam said calmly. “You’re going behind Tucker’s and my back to see the movie the three of us _always_ see together when they make a new one and you’re going with Dash instead?”

Danny nodded slowly, wondering when Sam would start yelling at him. Instead, Sam laughed with a shake of her head. Danny frowned in utter bafflement. _Did I miss something?_ he wondered.

“You realize this will be your first date with another guy?” Sam questioned as she smirked.

“It’s not a date!” Danny argued defensively, sitting up straight.

“Not a date? Danny, you’re going to see a movie with Dash, alone. How is that not a date?” The amused little grin stayed on her face.

“I’m going on a date with Dash?” Danny looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. “No way. This is just because we’re friends. Dash wouldn’t date someone like me.” Danny’s face grew sad as he remembered what Miranda had said.

“You actually like Dash, don’t you, Danny?” Sam frowned at the depressed expression on Danny’s face.

“No, of course not,” Danny replied, laughing weakly. Sighing, he slumped back against the seat. “I think I might though. I keep losing control of my powers when I’m around him or thinking about him.” He looked at his hands like he expected them to disappear. “You know, turning invisible, falling through the floor, that sort of thing.”

“I can’t believe you like Dash. Well, Dash said he was open to the idea of homosexuality, right? So you might have a chance with him.” Even if she didn’t like Dash that much, Sam still wanted Danny to be happy, no matter with whom he fell in love.

“Thanks, Sam. I think I better go before the lunch rush arrives.” Danny gave Sam a quick hug before leaving the diner to head back to his dorm room. He discovered the best way to deal with the bullying was to avoid pretty much everyone. For the past week, he stayed in his room a lot more. It also made him appreciate his powers a lot more. He couldn’t get beat up if his bullies couldn’t even see him. When he arrived at his dorm room, Danny flopped onto his bed and buried his nose in a book. But his mind started wandering to tomorrow. Was it really a date or was it just a friends thing?

 

“Are you feeling okay?” Dash asked as they found their seats in the theater.

“Yeah, of course,” Danny answered, forcing a smile onto his face, as he set his drink in the cup holder. _If you ignore the fact that my heart is about to beat right out of my chest. Sam just had to tell me this might be a date_ , he thought, wishing Sam had kept that idea to herself. His stomach twisted when his elbow bumped into Dash’s elbow as they both went for the armrest between them. Dash allowed Danny to have the armrest. _I’m so nervous that my hands are sweating_ , Danny thought, turning his attention to the screen as the lights dimmed.

Throughout the movie, Danny kept glancing at Dash, but the jock’s eyes never left the screen. _So this is just a friend thing after all_ , Danny thought relieved but also sadly as he took a sip of his soda. At that moment, he felt Dash’s hand suddenly cover his own. Danny bit his tongue to stop the gasp while a dark blush rose to his cheeks. His other hand suddenly turned intangible. The soda fell, landing between his legs. The lid popped off and splattered him with soda. Danny shot up from his seat, ripping his hand out of Dash’s hold.

“Sit down,” a few people behind them shouted angrily. Danny wavered, wanting to run, but eventually sat back down. Dash stared at him for the remainder of the movie, wondering if he had made his move too soon. Maybe Danny wouldn’t like him.

“Fenton,” Dash said as they left the theater after the movie ended.

“Ah, don’t worry about that,” Danny said, laughing nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t have a good hold on the soda and it just slipped right out of my hand.”

“Oh,” Dash mumbled. He didn’t quite believe that story. “Well, it’s pretty warm out tonight. You want to grab some ice cream on the way back to our dorm?”

“Uh, s-sure,” Danny agreed. _He probably thinks I’m a major loser again_ , he thought, shoulders drooping.

They walked down the street to a little ice cream stand. As they walked, they gradually grew closer and closer until their knuckles brushed together. Danny flinched, retracting his arm. He hesitantly lowered his arm to let their hands bump against each other again.

“Do you know what you want?” Dash asked as they reached the ice cream stand.

“I’m going to get just plain chocolate,” Danny answered. He reached into his pocket to retrieve his wallet, but Dash stopped him.

“I’ll pay for it,” Dash said with a hint of a smile. He glanced at Danny’s soaked clothes. “Maybe we should have gone back so you could change.”

“It’s just a little soda,” Danny stated with a small shrug as they approached the girl working at the ice cream stand.

“What can I get you?” the girl asked shyly, blushing as she stared at Dash.

“Two cones: one chocolate and the second one cookie dough,” Dash told her.

Danny frowned, watching the girl flirting with Dash while she fixed the two ice cream cones. Dash paid for them and handed the chocolate one to Danny. Taking a small lick from the ice cream, Danny half wondered why Dash completely ignored the girl’s advances. Dash glanced at the shorter man and stifled a laugh.

“What are you laughing at?” Danny asked with a pout.

Dash brought his free hand up and cupped the other man’s face. Danny fought back a blush as his heart pounded loudly in his chest. Dash leaned in close; his warm breath washing over Danny’s reddening face. His tongue peeked out of his mouth to scoop up the dot of ice cream on Danny’s nose. A dark blush exploded onto Danny’s face, his jaw dropping in shock. His eyes met with Dash’s, and he felt warmth bubbling inside him.

Dash started to lean in again when they heard a thud. Letting Danny go, Dash walked back to the ice cream stand to find the girl passed out on the ground. While Dash checked on the girl’s condition, a chill ran through Danny as the familiar blue wisp left his mouth. Switching to ghost mode, Danny flew into the air, searching for the ghost. As soon as he was above the buildings, a ghost collided with him. Danny kicked the ghost away, putting distance between them.

“That was easy,” the ghost announced, smirking evilly at the half ghost.

“What?” Danny frowned as he felt something tight around his head. “What is this?” He tried to remove it, but it got tighter the more he yanked it.

“Only I can remove it,” the ghost said smugly. “And I don’t plan on removing it.”

“Until we get our meal,” a second ghost added from directly behind the half ghost. Danny shot away from the second ghost, but his movements were strangely lethargic. The ghost’s blast hit him, making Danny scream as wave after wave of pain coursed through him.

“We’re being rude, brother,” the first ghost said while Danny recovered from the blow. “We need to introduce ourselves to our prey. I’m Palsy, and this is Pain.”

“I could care less about who you are,” Danny growled. “You’re both going back to the Ghost Zone.” He threw two ecto blasts at the ghosts, but the two ghosts easily avoided the slow moving blasts.

“Aw, that wasn’t very nice.” Palsy pretended to pout. He patted Danny’s head as he floated past. Pain shot another blast at Danny, sending the poor half ghost hurtling onto the roof of a nearby building. Danny climbed to his knees, panting heavily. A warm droplet landed on Danny’s hand.

“What’s happening?” Danny mumbled. He wiped away the tears with slow, shaky hands, but the tears kept flowing. “Why can’t I stop crying?”

“One more hit, and we can eat, brother,” Palsy cheered, bouncing from foot to foot.

“Sorry,” Pain said as he approached Danny. “But the cries of a half ghost are too rare a treat to pass up.”

“Stop,” Danny whimpered, hating how weak he sounded. He needed to fight, but his body wouldn’t move properly. Pain placed a hand on Danny’s chest. When the blast hit, Danny gasped at the enormous pain ripping his insides apart. His eyes grew wide as he held his pounding head in his hands. His mouth dropped open to scream, but something else left his gapping mouth. A crystal blue ball fell to the ground. Danny reached a trembling hand for the crystal, but Palsy snatched it up before he could.

“I’ve never seen one of such a brilliant color,” Palsy stated as he held the crystal up to the moonlight. “Should we try for a second?”

“More than one a week could destroy his soul,” Pain answered as he took the crystal. “Release him. We can hunt him for a second meal after a week has past.”

“Fine,” Palsy grumbled with a sigh. He tapped the emerald stone in the center of the band on Danny’s head. The band disappeared, allowing Danny to move freely again. But the paralysis effect still lingered, and the pain from the blasts kept Danny trembling on his knees. “Do you think we went a little too hard on him? He is half human after all.”

“No, he’s just weak,” Pain replied, giving Danny a swift kick to the ribs. Danny gasped as he skidded closer to the roof’s edge. “Besides, we can’t get our meal if we don’t inflict extreme pain on our prey.” Another kick sent Danny flying off the roof.

Danny willed his body to move, but all he could do was watch the two ghosts vanish into the night sky as he fell. Squeezing his eyes shut, Danny concentrated on his powers. Before he cracked his skull open on the asphalt, he managed to turn himself intangible and sank into the ground. After crawling out of the ground, Danny switch back to human form.

_After all this time, I’m still so weak_ , Danny thought as tears of frustration spilled from his eyes. _I couldn’t do anything from the very beginning of that fight! Why am I so weak?_

“Fenton,” Dash shouted from somewhere down the street.

Danny struggled to climb to his feet. White flashes behind his eyes made his head throb. He nearly collapsed to his knees again, but he finally managed to stand on unsteady legs by the time Dash had reached him.

“Fenton, what happened to you?” Dash grew worried when he saw Danny’s disheveled appearance and the tears staining his face.

Stop crying, Danny ordered himself. Don’t show him just how weak you are.

“Danny,” Dash whispered as he wiped the tears away. A pathetic sob escaped Danny as he pressed his head into the jock’s chest. Dash wrapped his arms around the shorter man, pulling Danny closer. _I’m going to find the person who did this to you and make them pay for causing you such pain_ , Dash vowed. Danny’s sobs calmed, but he clung tightly to Dash, fear keeping Danny from pulling away.


	9. Chapter 8

“What do you want, Dash?” Sam demanded, glaring at the man before her.

“Something happened to Fenton last night after the movie,” Dash told them with a frown set on his face.

“Whoa! You went on a date with Danny?” Tucker’s eyes grew wide in amazement. However, his outburst only received glares from the other two occupants of the table. “What? I never would have thought the Great Dash Baxter would be gay. Or that he would want to date Danny. I mean, Dash was always a jerk to Danny.”

“People can change you know,” Dash stated in a low growl.

“Of course they can,” Tucker agreed, shrinking back under Dash’s glare.

“So then, you do like Danny?” Sam questioned for clarification. “Because if you hurt him, we’ll rip your body into a million pieces and feed those pieces to rabid rats.”

“I’m not going to hurt Fenton. I love him,” Dash snapped, remembering to keep his voice low so that the other people in the diner didn’t overhear his confession. Sam and Tucker’s mouths dropped open in shock. “But that’s not what I came here to talk about. Fenton won’t tell me what happened to him.”

“You don’t think it could have been,” Tucker stopped talking when Sam kicked him in the shin.

“Could you give us your account of what happened?” Sam asked after shooting another glare at Tucker.

“Well, after the movie, we went for ice cream. The girl at the stand, uh, passed out, so I went to check on her to if she was okay,” Dash explained, skipping the part where he licked the ice cream from Danny’s nose. They didn’t need to know that part. “But when I turned back, Fenton was gone. I went looking for him and heard a scream. I finally found him, but he was all beat up and struggling to even stand on his feet. He won’t tell me what happened, and I’m worried about him.”

“We’ll see what we can find out.” Sam grabbed Tucker’s arm and dragged him out of the diner.

“Can you believe Dash admitted he loved Danny?” Tucker asked, still shocked by the confession.

“The more important thing at the moment is finding out what happened to Danny last night,” Sam stated as they approached Danny’s dorm building. “Danny told me he thought there might be a ghost lurking around campus.”

“Do you think Danny likes Dash?” Tucker wondered. Sam smacked him on the back of the head.

“Focus on the ghost problem. And yes, Danny does have a crush on Dash. Even though he’s still confused about his feelings, it’s pretty obvious that he likes Dash as well.” Sam knocked on the door to Danny’s dorm room. They heard some rustling from within the room before Danny opened the door.

“Oh good! It’s only you guys,” Danny mumbled, letting his friends into his room.

“You look horrible, Danny,” Sam commented. Danny’s eyes were red and puffy like he had been crying all night long.

“Gee, thanks,” Danny muttered as he collapsed onto his bed.

“So what happened last night?” Tucker asked, sitting at Danny’s desk and getting straight to the point of their visit.

“I had my ass handed to me by two ghosts,” Danny said as he rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm. “I don’t understand. I could barely move and my attacks were too slow. And the second ghost’s attacks felt a million times worse than anything I’ve ever felt. It was like he was tearing my insides apart bit by bit. It was horrible. I feel so weak.”

“You’re not weak, Danny,” Sam argued. “You were just unprepared. The ghosts have to have some sort of weakness. You just need to find it.”

“Hmm, maybe you’re right.” Danny stood, walking toward the door.

“Where are you going?” his friends asked in unison.

“To the Ghost Zone,” Danny answered. “Someone in there must know something about these ghosts and their weakness.”

“Why would they help you?” Sam questioned. She had a good point. The ghosts had no reason to help him. And he hated going into the Ghost Zone anyway.

“And what should we tell Dash? He’s already worried about you,” Tucker added. “How do you think he’ll feel when you disappear, and we can’t tell him anything?”

Danny froze with his hand on the door knob. He leaned his head against the door. Sam and Tucker watched in concern as Danny slowly dropped to his knees.

“D-Danny!” Sam exclaimed, rushing to Danny’s side. “What’s wrong?”

“What did those ghosts do to me?” Danny wondered. Every time he thought about Dash, he felt nothing. There was no heat rising in him like the before when simply catching Dash's eye would make his insides twist. Whatever these ghosts took from him left an emptiness inside him. He hated that feeling. He had to figure out how to defeat the ghosts before they could get a second “meal” from him. Switching to ghost form, Danny fled the room before his friends could try to convince him not to go to the Ghost Zone.

“We should go to Danny’s,” Sam suggested. “Even if we can’t stop him from going to the Ghost Zone, we should be there in case he needs help.” Tucker agreed, and the two of them headed for the door only to run into Dash.

“I’ll go on ahead,” Tucker called as he jogged around Dash and down the hallway. Sam glared after him. Why did she have to deal with all the hard parts?

“Did Danny tell you what happened last night?” Dash asked, worry shining in his eyes.

“Um, well, actually,” Sam searched her mind for any excuse. She could see Dash really liked Danny, and she almost felt bad for having to lie to him. “Danny wasn’t here, so we thought we’d go look for him.” She ran down the hallway before Dash could ask any more questions.

_They came out of our room_ , Dash thought, his eyes narrowing at Sam’s retreating form. _They couldn’t have gotten in unless Danny was here. They’re hiding something from me_. Dash slammed his fist into the wall to release his building frustration. _I’m going to find out what this secret is_. After a moment to calm himself, Dash followed Sam and Tucker. If something was wrong with Danny, they would surely go to help him.

 

“So you never heard of Palsy and Pain?” Danny asked for the millionth time. He started to feel hopeless. How could all of the ghosts in the Ghost Zone have no information on these two?

“Do you really think a ghost is going to give you any information on a fellow ghost?” Skulker asked. He was shocked to see Danny enter the Ghost Zone again.

Danny sighed, hanging his head in defeat. Jazz had contacted him about fifteen minutes ago to tell him their parents would be home soon.

“I don’t really know much about them except that they aren’t from this area.” Skulker smirked at Danny’s surprised face. “Word on the Ghost Vine is that they flew in from Wisconsin because someone hired them to take care of a little half ghost pest.”

“Someone in - Vlad!” Danny gasped, eyes widening. After five years, Vlad still planned to steal his mom away from his dad. “I’m not going to let him get away with this. What else do you know about Palsy and Pain?”

“I really shouldn’t be telling you anything,” Skulker stated with a sigh. “I’ve never run into them so I only know about them from what I’ve been told. The most important thing is to keep your distance from Palsy. If he touches you, you’ll be paralyzed, and then it’s game over.”

“I wasn’t paralyzed after he touched me,” Danny said, frowning, as his brow furrowed in confusion. “My movements were really slow though.”

“You probably weren’t completely paralyzed because you’re only half ghost. But it still made you an easy target.”

“Okay. Don’t let Palsy touch me. Got it. What about Pain?”

“From what I’ve heard, Pain’s blasts are designed to inflict pain based on the victim’s strongest emotions. The stronger the emotion is the better the meal tastes I guess. Have you noticed any loss of emotion since they attacked you?”

Danny’s eyes grew sad as he lowered his gaze. “Love,” Danny whispered so softly that Skulker almost didn’t hear him.

“Well, that’s sure to be a tasty treat for them since it’s rare for a ghost to feel love.” Skulker smirked. He frowned when Danny continued to look depressed.

“Does this mean I’ll never be able to feel love again?” Danny inquired, his voice cracking from the suppressed emotions of sadness.

“From what I’ve seen, the ghosts who were attacked got the emotions back after a week. I guess the effect is only temporary.”

Danny only nodded numbly. Just thinking about his lost emotion of love made him feel like his heart was being ripped out of him.

“That’s all I know about them,” Skulker announced softly. He never thought he would feel bad for Danny. Seeing the half ghost this glum stabbed at his heart. Skulker was surprised to discover he had a heart. After five years of hunting Danny, he had apparently gained some kind of affection for the young half ghost.

“Thanks for your help, Skulker,” Danny mumbled. “I should be going now anyway.” He floated away, heading back toward the portal out of the Ghost Zone. When he got back, Jazz shut the portal behind him while Danny switched back to human form.

“Mom and dad just got back,” Jazz told him, looking worried. “Did you find out anything about those two ghosts?”

“A little,” Danny whispered.

Jazz grew even more concerned. She had never seen Danny look so depressed, even when Miss Spectra was feeding on his misery. Danny suddenly drew her into a warm embrace, resting his head on her shoulder. Jazz stared at him in shock and confusion. Danny hardly ever initiated a hug between them.

“I can’t feel it right now, but I know I love you, Jazz,” Danny said, swallowing the lump of emotions stuck in his throat. “I never really said it before, but I’m so glad you were able to accept me when I told you about my ghost powers.”

“You’re my brother. Of course I would accept you no matter what,” Jazz replied, returning the embrace. “What do you mean you can’t feel it right now?”

“When the ghosts attacked, they took my strongest emotion as their ‘meal.’ So for a week, I can’t feel love,” Danny answered and rubbed at his eyes.

“Jazz, are you down in the lab?” Maddie called from upstairs.

“You’re not supposed to be here, Danny. Go back to college and finish out the week. You told me that the ghosts wouldn’t attack you again for a week. Use this time to plan some way to defeat them.”

“I can’t see Dash like this!” Danny argued. “I hate this empty feeling when I think about it. I don't think I could look at him until this is over.”

“Then stay with Tucker. He’ll understand the situation,” Jazz suggested. “Now get going before Mom and Dad catch you.”

Danny grinned and gave her another hug. Then he switched to ghost form and disappeared. Jazz smiled to herself. She was glad their relationship had gotten better over the years. For a while, she was afraid there would always be this giant distance between them. Once Danny had the courage to tell her about his ghost powers, he became comfortable enough to confide in her again.

Jazz suddenly gasped as she thought about the reason Danny said about why he didn’t want to see Dash. “Danny’s gay!” Jazz whispered with wide eyes.


	10. Chapter 9

“I knew you two would follow me,” Danny said as he glared at his two best friends while they waited to get on the bus back to college.

“We were worried about you, Danny,” Sam said and glared right back. The line moved, and the three friends climbed onto the bus. As he sat down, Danny thought he saw someone who looked like Dash. He shook the thought from his head. Why would Dash be on this bus?

“So did you find out anything about the two?” Tucker asked, leaning over the aisle to whisper to Danny.

“Well no one wanted to tell me anything about them since I’m the enemy,” Danny answered with a sigh as he rubbed his temple. “However, Skulker told me what he had heard about them.”

“Skulker?” Sam and Tucker exclaimed, gaining the attention of annoyed passengers.

“I’ll explain the details later when we won’t be overheard,” Danny said, closing his eyes. He was still exhausted from the previous night. Tucker leaned back in his seat and settled in for the two hour ride back to college.

A few seats behind them, Dash watched them. Skulker? Who was that? And why did Danny have to go to him for information? What kind of information was he looking for? So far spying on Danny and his friends only brought up more questions.

Two hours later, the bus arrived at their college. Dash squeezed through the people getting off the bus. He followed the three friends as they walked through the campus, but he kept a safe distance so he wouldn’t be seen.

“So where should we go to talk?” Tucker asked.

“Let’s go to your room since you have a single. By the way, I’m going to need to stay with you for the remainder of the year,” Danny answered. Dash paused. Danny didn’t want to be his dorm mate anymore?

“I don’t mind. But why the sudden change? Our dorm buildings are on opposite sides of the campus.”

“I’ll explain once we get to your room.”

“Dash Baxter!” A woman’s squeal drew the attention of the trio. They turned back as the red head latched onto the blond man. Danny seethed at the sight of the woman.

“Was Dash following us?” Tucker questioned Sam, who had a frown set on her face as she glared at the pair.

“Let go,” Dash muttered as he pried the woman’s arms off him. “Who are you?”

“Miranda Barton,” she answered as she giggled, curling a lock of red hair around her finger.

Dash frowned. Miranda? That name sounded familiar. He glanced at Danny to find the man glaring at him. Then it clicked in Dash’s mind. Miranda was the woman who had used Danny to get to Dash. Danny stomped away. Sam hesitated, glaring more at Miranda than Dash. She grabbed Tucker’s arm and dragged him with her as she followed Danny.

“Fenton!” Dash called, starting to chase after them.

“Dash!” Miranda held onto his arm. She frowned, looking hurt because Dash tried to ditch her. “Aren’t you going to ask me out?”

“Why would I?” Dash shouted with an expression of disgust on his face. He ripped his arm free from her grip.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to chase after that loser Danny Fenton,” Miranda demanded, glaring at him. “Let him hang out with his loser friends and do whatever losers like them do. It’s a waste of time to even acknowledge their existences. Hey, let’s go to that little coffee café that just opened.”

“I would rather hang out with Fenton than a superficial whore like you,” Dash growled, growing even angrier that Miranda kept calling Danny a loser. “I’ve had to deal with people like you trying to befriend me or date me in order to raise their social status all throughout high school, and I’m sick of it.”

“Danny’s gay,” Miranda announced with a smirk, expecting a reaction from the jock, but Dash only stared blankly at her. “Fine. If you want to chase after that loser, then I’ll tell the whole school you’re gay too.”

“Stop calling Fenton a loser,” Dash shouted. “Go ahead and tell the school I’m gay. I don’t care who knows. I’ve known I was gay since junior year of high school.”

“You’ll regret this,” Miranda warned before running away with tears in her eyes.

“Now that that’s done with,” Dash mumbled as he sighed. He paused, glancing around campus. “Shit! I have no idea where Foley’s dorm is.”

 

“Those bastards!” Sam growled after Danny told them everything he had heard from Skulker. “You finally find someone you actually love, not based solely on looks, and those damned ghosts stole your ability to love. And now that bitch Miranda is trying to move in on your man!”

“I’ve never seen her so angry before,” Tucker whispered to Danny.

“Sam, getting angry isn’t going to help,” Danny said with a tired sigh. “The good thing is the effect only lasts for a week. The bad thing is after a week, they’ll be after me again.”

“We need to get Vlad for this,” Sam said, beating a fist into her hand.

“I thought you had a date tonight, Sam,” Danny said. He hoped it would cause a change in her mood. They wouldn’t be able to think of a good strategy to defeat Palsy and Pain if they were angry.

“Oh, I do too,” Tucker interjected as he climbed off his bed.

“You have a date?” Danny and Sam asked in unison.

“With these good looks, how can I not have a date?” Tucker asked with a grin. He received a roll of the eyes from Sam. “Anyway, if you get hungry, Danny, there’s some food in the mini-fridge.”

“I’ll see you both later then,” Danny said, waving to his friends, as they walked down the hallway. After closing the door, Danny flopped onto Tucker’s bed.

The image of Miranda with her arms wrapped around Dash forced itself to the front of Danny’s mind. A growl emitted from the back of Danny’s throat as he threw a pillow at the door. He flung himself onto his back and glared at the ceiling. Miranda made Danny’s blood boil more than Vlad and his little helper ghosts, Palsy and Pain. Soon, his rage melted away as he fell into a restless sleep.

Later that evening, Danny woke groggily to a noise outside the door. He slipped off the bed and padded quietly to the door. He paused when he heard voices speaking in whispers.

“You should call for a cab,” Tucker told the other person.

“It’s already two in the morning,” the woman said. Danny thought he recognized the voice, but he couldn’t place it with his half asleep brain. “Just let me stay over. It’s not like I haven’t stayed the night before. And we’ve never been caught.”

“Well, tonight’s different,” Tucker said uneasily.

“People are trying to sleep,” Danny mumbled as he opened the door. The couple turned to him with their eyes wide. “Oh, Pauliiiiiiiiiiiina,” Danny said with a wide grin. His cheery face crumpled into a look of confusion. “Why is Paulina here?”

“Don’t even think of hitting on her,” Tucker warned as he pushed Danny back inside the room. Paulina followed, closing the door behind her.

“Dude, I’m gay. Remember?” Danny glared at Tucker, who laughed sheepishly.

“Does that mean you two are together?” Paulina asked, pointing at the two friends.

“No, no, Danny here is crushing hard on Dash,” Tucker answered.

“I can totally see that. That’s so cute!” Paulina squealed, pinching Danny’s cheeks.

“Oh sure! Pay attention to me now that I know I’m gay,” Danny grumbled as he fended off Paulina’s hands. “Wait! You mean, you and Tucker aren’t dating?”

“You told him we were dating?” Paulina turned angrily on Tucker.

“Wait! Let me explain,” Tucker said, backing away under Paulina’s gaze. He raised his hands to defend himself. “I only said I had a date. I didn’t want to tell him I was meeting you because he would have started asking a million questions, and I was already running late.”

“You have the time now, so explain to him,” Paulina ordered as she sat down on the bed.

“Paulina and I have been meeting throughout the year because I’ve been tutoring her,” Tucker explained. “Paulina asked me to be her tutor so she could pass the required courses to get into the fashion school of her choice. That’s why she chose to go to the community college instead of applying to the fashion school right away. She wouldn’t have been accepted after graduating from Casper High because her grades weren’t good enough.”

“Oh… so you really aren’t dating?” Danny asked, glancing at the two, who both gave him a resounding “no.”

“Now for sleeping arrangements,” Paulina said, rubbing her chin and looking thoughtful. “Danny and I will take the bed.”

“What?” Danny and Tucker exclaimed.

“Well, there’s only room for two on the bed,” Paulina stated. “Since Danny’s gay, I can trust him not to make a move on me. And I would feel guilty making Danny sleep on the floor since he obviously came here for your help with his whole crush problem.” Paulina lay back on the bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

“Okay,” Tucker mumbled with a sigh as he walked to the closet. He pulled out an extra pillow and blanket for himself. “Oh, Danny, just a warning. Paulina can be a little violent during the night,” Tucker whispered to his friend before curling up on the floor. Danny blinked, not believing that Tucker’s warning was true, until he felt Paulina’s arms wrap around his body and squeeze him tightly.

“Oh, G-I think my pancreas is bleeding!” Danny groaned, trying to squirm out of Paulina’s grip.

“At least she didn’t knee you in the groin.” Tucker winced at the memory.

“This is going to be a long night,” Danny muttered as he scooted to the edge of the bed, putting some distance between Paulina and himself.


	11. Chapter 10

“So you’ve been sleeping in the same bed as Paulina throughout the year?” Danny shook his head with a small laugh. He had been shocked from his groggy, half asleep state that morning when he discovered Paulina’s arms loosely wrapped around his waist and her head buried in the crook of his neck. He finally shared a bed with a hot woman, and it had to be after he discovered he was gay. He didn’t feel too disappointed though, not when he had Dash to think about.

“We only meet once or twice a month,” Tucker said as he shrugged, pausing outside the building of his next class. “The only reason she stays in my room is because I don’t like the idea of her walking around our campus that late at night. I mean, Paulina is beautiful, and there are a lot of guys who party heavily on campus. I just feel better knowing she won’t have to deal with any of the drunks. I gotta go, or I’ll be late. Bye!” They waved to each other as they parted ways.

Danny smiled to himself as he headed toward his next class. He wondered how long it would be before Tucker and Paulina started dating. _Oh crap!_ Danny thought, pausing mid step. _Dash and Paulina still speak to each other a lot on the phone. Paulina might tell him before I have the courage to tell him how I feel_. Danny pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a sigh. He should have made her promise not to say anything to Dash.

Danny was about to start walking again when someone grabbed his arm and dragged him behind the nearby building out of sight of everyone else. The person slammed him into the brick wall of the building. Danny turned his stunned gaze upward and stared into the very familiar face.

“Brad!” Danny gasped in shock. He thought he wouldn’t see Brad ever again. How had Brad even found him? Danny tried to break free, but Brad pressed against him, keeping him trapped against the wall.

“Hello again, beautiful,” Brad whispered into Danny’s ear. “I thought you were going to stop by the club again.”

Danny had thought Brad was an okay guy when they were talking at the club. But now he suddenly got bad vibes from the man. He tried to wiggle free, but Brad wouldn't give him even an inch of room to move. “Let go of me,” he growled, ignoring the fear coiling in his gut. He couldn’t escape with his ghost powers without exposing himself. “How did you even find me?”

“I asked around, and this red head told me where to find you if I promised to give her a copy of the video.” Brad smirked as he stroked Danny’s face.

“What video?” Danny felt nauseous at the man’s touch. Sam was right about the club, he thought as dread settled over him. Going to the club was obviously a mistake.

“Oh, that’s right. I didn’t explain that to you yet. You see, Derek and I are having a little contest going to see who can lay each newbie that comes to the club. Lots of kids from this college stop by to experiment each year. As proof, we video tape each conquest. I had planned to sweet talk you into bed, but your little friend had to interrupt us.”

Danny glared at the man and kneed him in the groin. Brad released Danny as he winced in pain with a strangled shout.

“You wouldn’t have gotten me to sleep with you no matter how much sweet talking you did,” Danny sneered. He turned to walk away, but Brad suddenly tackled him to the ground. Danny’s head slammed hard against the concrete. His vision went black momentarily while Brad flipped him onto his back. Danny stared up, only able to see a blurry shadow hovering above him.

“You made me hurt you.” Brad shook his head sadly as he caressed Danny’s face, smearing the blood that marred his pale flesh. Then the man’s weight was pulled off him. Danny tried to sit up, but his brain was too fuzzy to control his body’s movements properly.

“Keep your fucking hands off him,” a second person growled threateningly.

_Dash!_ Danny’s brain cheered; happy that his crush had come to his rescue.

“Look, kid. I found this boy first so get your own plaything,” Brad said calmly as he glared at the man before him.

“He’s not a plaything!” Dash shouted. “Lay one finger on him, and I’ll rip your head off.”

“You don’t own him. You have no right to tell him who he can and can’t sleep with.”

“If he wanted to sleep with you, why did you have to knock him unconscious?” Dash narrowed his eyes at the older man. His fists clenched at his sides. He wanted to give this man a good beating but not on school campus. Despite it being the last week of school, a fight on campus would still cause problems for him.

“Che, whatever. I don’t need this trouble,” Brad grumbled. He walked past Dash, slamming his shoulder into the jock’s shoulder. _Shit! He must be a football player or something_ , Brad thought, wincing at the pain blossoming from his shoulder. Dash waited for the man to disappear around the corner before kneeling beside Danny.

“Danny?” Dash shook him, hoping the knock to his head wasn’t serious. Danny stared at him through unfocused blue eyes. A goofy smile broke onto his face before his eyes slipped shut. Panic flared up inside Dash. He picked up his dorm mate, racing toward the small on-campus medical center.

 

Danny groaned as he woke a few hours later. Sitting up slowly, he rubbed his throbbing head and found it to be bandaged. Bits of what happened floated back into his memory. His eyes grew wide when he remembered who came to his rescue. Danny glanced about the small medical room but found it empty. With a sigh, he flopped back into the cushy pillow. He didn’t think he could take the numb feeling when he saw Dash again. _Only four more days until I can feel love again_ , Danny thought with a tired sigh as he stared at the stark white ceiling.

When the door opened, Danny turned his gaze to see Dash. The jock looked like he was trying to hide a smile at seeing Danny. Dash closed the door behind him before walking to the bed. Danny stared at his hands to avoid looking at Dash. He felt the stab of sorrow in his heart.

“The doctor said it might be a few hours before you woke up,” Dash said as he sat on the bed. “He said it wasn’t a serious injury, but it was a nasty fall so your head might hurt for a few days. He’s prescribing some meds to help lessen the pain.”

“Thanks for, um, helping me,” Danny whispered, risking a glance at Dash.

“I can’t just stand back and let some asshole rape my dorm mate.” Dash glowered, glaring at some random point on the wall. “But I guess we aren’t exactly dorm mates anymore since you decided to stay with Foley from now on.” His voice grew sad. “Did I do something or say something that offended you?”

“It,” Danny said with a sigh, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling again. “I would be lying if I said this had nothing to do with you. You are the reason I stayed with Tucker last night. But it has nothing to do with anything you did or said.”

“Then why? Does it have something to do with what happened Saturday? Why can you tell Manson and Foley but not me? What are you three hiding? Was it that guy who just tried to rape you? Did he attack you on Saturday too? Tell me what happened!” Dash shouted. The secrecy among the three friends made Dash more and more frustrated.

“Stop yelling at me!” Danny shouted back, holding his throbbing head.

“I’m sorry.” Dash changed the way he was sitting on the bed and drew Danny to lean against him and ran his fingers through the dark locks. “I want to know because I hate seeing the people I care about hurt and not being able to do anything to help them. We’re friends so we should be able to tell each other everything, right?”

“I can’t,” Danny mumbled, taking a shuddering breath. At another time, he would have relished at being held like this but Dash, but instead, it was like being held by stranger. “I’m not ready to tell you about that part of me yet.”

“Fine.” Dash sighed. “Keep your secrets.” He retrieved a brown paper bag from his book bag. “And I was nice and brought you sandwiches since hospital food is disgusting.”

“Oh, sandwiches!” Danny’s eyes lit up, and he reached out to snatch the bag from Dash. But Dash lifted it far out of Danny’s reach. He grinned at Danny’s attempts to grab the bag. After a little while, Dash let Danny steal the bag. He watched as Danny cheerfully tore into the bag and began devouring the sandwiches. “So good,” Danny mumbled between bites.

“Did Foley not feed you or something?” Dash asked, holding back a chuckle of amusement.

“I was too tired last night to get something to eat for dinner, and I woke up late this morning and had to skip breakfast,” Danny explained, finishing off the first sandwich.

“Fenton,” Dash started but then shook his head. “I’ll go talk to the doctor so you can be released. I’ll cook you a big dinner to make up for those missed meals.”

Danny watched Dash walk out of the room with half a sandwich hanging from his mouth. How had Dash made Danny forget about the emptiness brought on by the loss of his ability to feel love? _Maybe it’s the food_ , Danny mused to himself.

A shiver ran through him, and Danny glanced out the window. For a moment, he thought he saw Pain before the ghost disappeared. Pain’s sad, haunted gaze lingered in Danny’s mind. Why would Pain be spying on him? Didn’t they say they would wait a week before coming after him again? Thinking hurt too much with the dull throbbing in his brain. Danny shrugged and returned to eating the delicious sandwiches Dash made for him.


	12. Chapter 11

“Geez, you’re hard to find sometimes,” Tucker grumbled, tapping Danny in the side with his foot.

“You just ruined my shot, jerk,” Danny stated as he sat up on his knees. “What do you want? I was trying to finish off this roll before class started.”

“I thought you were staying with me this week so I was a little worried that something might have happened to you since you didn’t come back last night. What happened to your head?” Tucker asked when he noticed the bandages on Danny’s head.

“Oh, I ran into Brad from the club again,” Danny answered. “Turns out he’s a jerk and only wanted to get me into bed. When I tried to get away, he tackled me, and I hit my head hard on the ground. But Dash stopped him before he could do anything else to me.” Danny rubbed his head, wishing he had brought his medication with him because his head began throbbing again. “The effect from the ghost attack seems to be lessening so I don’t think I need to stay with you anymore.”

“So Dash played the knight in shining armor?” Tucker teased.

“Oh, shut up!” Danny punched Tucker’s arm as a light blush colored his cheeks. “While I was still in the medical center after the incident with Brad, I saw one of the ghosts that attacked me. He looked kind of depressed.” Danny frowned, drawing his knees to his chest.

“Danny, they’re your enemy. They’re working for Vlad,” Tucker argued.

“Yeah, but,” Danny trailed off, shrugging and looking away. “We’ve met a lot of bad ghosts over the years, but there have been a few good ghosts too.”

“They took away your ability to love!” Tucker couldn’t believe Danny was trying to convince himself that the ghosts who attacked him weren’t bad.

“I know that!” Danny shouted. “But - I don’t know - after seeing that expression on Pain’s face, I can’t stop wondering why they would help Vlad.”

“Could it be because they hate you for being a goody-goody and putting ghosts back into the Ghost Zone?”

“There has to be a better reason than that.” Danny stood up and stretched, his camera swinging on the strap around his neck. “They could have easily destroyed-” Danny stopped speaking when a balloon hit him on the side of his face. It burst, spraying him with pink paint. Danny held a hand over his eye, watering in pain, because a piece of the balloon had caught his eye.

“Haha, you nailed the little freak.” Danny and Tucker looked over to find a group of jocks pointing and laughing at them.

“Is that your boyfriend?” another jock questioned. Growling, Danny started to stomp toward them when Tucker stood up and blocked his path.

“Danny, it isn’t worth it. Just ignore him,” Tucker said, holding his friend back. Danny sighed and turned his back on the jocks.

The jocks’ laughter followed the two friends as they walked away. One jock bent down and picked up a rock. He threw it at Danny, nailing him in the back. Danny froze, back arching, as pain radiated from the spot between his shoulder blades where the rock hit him. Enraged, Danny turned back to the jocks.

“Danny, don’t do something stupid,” Tucker shouted.

But Danny was already racing toward the jocks. He landed a punch to the face of the jock who had thrown the rock. The jock only smirked, and Danny realized they were waiting for him to throw the first punch. The jock’s fist connected with Danny’s gut, starting the jocks’ attack on him.

“Stop it, you assholes,” Tucker shouted. He would have joined the fight if another jock hadn’t grabbed him and lifted him off the ground. Tucker could only watch Danny’s poor attempts to fight back. Even with all his experience fighting ghosts, Danny was no match for six muscular jocks ganging up on him when he couldn't use his ghost powers.

“Hey, break it up,” a teacher shouted, stepping in to stop the fight. The jocks backed off immediately. Danny, on the other hand, was still feeding on the adrenaline rush from the fight. Not even realizing a teacher arrived, he punched that man.

“Peghorn,” Danny whispered, blinking wide eyes in shock.

“He threw the first punch, Professor Peghorn,” one jock said quickly as he pointed toward Danny.

“Getting into trouble again, Mister Fenton,” Peghorn said as he shook his head in disappointment, though he couldn’t hide the tiny smirk. “I warned you last time that if you made any more mistakes, I’d have to take you to the dean’s office.” Peghorn grabbed Danny’s arm and dragged him away.

“Let me go,” Tucker shouted as he struggled to break free from the jock’s arms. When Peghorn and Danny were out of sight, the jock shoved Tucker to the ground. “Assholes,” Tucker muttered before running after Danny. He was half way to the dean’s office when he ran into someone turning the corner. When he looked to apologize, he bit his tongue, staring into Dash’s eyes filled with annoyance.

“Why are you in such a hurry, Foley?” Dash questioned, his eyes narrowing when Tucker only stared at him.

“I’m trying to catch up with Peghorn and Danny,” Tucker answered. He started to run after them again, but Dash grabbed his arm. The look on the jock’s face told Tucker that if he didn’t explain more, he wouldn’t be able to walk for a month or more. “Some jocks decided to pick on Danny. We were going to walk away, but then one of them hit Danny with a rock. They all got into a fight, and Danny punched Peghorn when he tried to stop the fight. Now Peghorn is taking Danny to the dean’s office,” Tucker explained quickly in one breath.

With a mutter of “shit,” Dash ran for the dean’s office with Tucker following behind him. When they reached it, the door opened, and Danny stormed out with a string of curses falling from his lips. Peghorn stood in the doorway with a smug, triumphant smirk on his face. Danny rushed by the two of them, blinded by his rage. Tucker glared at the history professor before running after Danny.

“Fenton!” Dash yelled, grabbing his dorm mate roughly by the arm.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Danny shouted. He ripped his arm from Dash’s grip and continued walking. Tucker stopped beside Dash, staring worriedly at his friend.

“Give him a little time to cool his head,” Tucker said after a moment of silence. He never thought he would see such conflict play on Dash’s face. Dash obviously wanted to go after Danny, but he didn’t want to cause another outburst from his dorm mate.

_What did the dean say to piss Fenton off so much?_ Dash wondered with his hands clenched into fists. Since Danny was too angry to talk, Dash saw no point in chasing after him right away. So taking Tucker’s advice, he headed for his next class before he was late.

 

“You’re such a pain in the ass to find,” Tucker grumbled as he walked toward the edge of the roof where his friend sat. Danny glanced toward Tucker before turning his gaze back to the starry sky. “What happened in the dean’s office?” After asking, Tucker noticed Danny’s eyes harden in anger.

“This all started because of that bitch Miranda,” Danny growled. “I never should have asked her out. Everything would be better if I hadn’t gone out with her.”

“Danny,” Tucker sighed as he sat beside his friend. “You weren’t happy with your life before that whole fiasco. All those girls rejecting you really hurt you. Sam and I could see how much it hurt you no matter how you tried to hide it and act as though everything was perfectly all right. Then you discovered you were gay, and you just seem so much happier with who you are. It’s like all those girls who rejected you meant nothing. If you hadn’t gone out with Miranda, you wouldn’t have even considered being gay.”

Danny tilted his head back, closing his eyes, as a cool breeze ruffled his raven locks. “I really thought things were getting better once I realized I was gay. I felt better about myself. And now… everything just… I don’t know… exploded into chaos.” Danny stood up, raking a hand through his hair. He kicked the broken camera across the roof top. During the fight with the jocks, his camera got smashed. All the pictures that he spent so much time to get just right lost for good. And it would take him months to save up the money to buy another camera.

“Danny, what did the dean say to you?” Tucker asked, worried about his friend.

“They greatly disapprove of violence on campus.” Danny fell silent for a moment. “The dean told me not to bother returning next year. He doesn’t think my behavior is appropriate for this college.”

“What? But those jocks started it! They provoked you!” Tucker exclaimed as he stood.

“And I threw the first punch,” Danny shouted. “The dean doesn’t care that they threw a rock at me or a balloon filled with paint. I slapped Miranda, started that fight, and punched Peghorn. It doesn’t matter that they provoked me. But what really pisses me off is that I spent three years studying my ass off to get good enough grades to get into this damn place. Now because of her and her jock friends, I’ve been kicked out.”

“You… you could go to the community college like Paulina,” Tucker suggested.

“And then what?” Danny glared at Tucker. “It’s not like I can go to another college after two years in community college. Casper University is the only college here. And I can’t leave here because of the Ghost Portal.” They stared at each other, both frowning, as they realized Danny’s ghost powers kept him bound to this town. “Maybe it’s time to put an end to Danny Phantom.”

“Danny, you can’t!” Tucker gaped at his friend. “What about all the ghosts that come through the portal? You’re the only one who can stop them!”

“What about what I want?” Danny’s eyes hardened in anger, but Tucker could see tears glistening in the corners of Danny’s eyes. “Do you really think I want to be stuck here all my life hunting ghosts?”

“Even if you could stop being Danny Phantom, which I really doubt, ghosts are still going to chase after you. You’re the half ghost, Danny. You can’t run away from it. Danny Phantom is a part of you that you can’t get rid of no matter how much you try. And say you did go to a college somewhere else, what about Dash? You think he’ll just follow you to another college?” Tucker asked, folding his arms over his chest.

“You know, before the whole me being gay came up, Dash asked me to be his roommate next year.” Danny let out a bitter laugh. “I guess that won’t be happening now.” Danny dropped back onto the roof top. “And you’re right. I can’t stop being Danny Phantom.”

“Good. And I don’t ever want to hear you say you’re going to put an end to Danny Phantom again.” Tucker smiled as he sat beside Danny. “I think you should accept Dash’s offer.”

“What?” Danny blinked wide eyes at his friend.

“I’m assuming Dash was planning to get an apartment so he wouldn’t be staying in the dorms. Why not continue living with him? You’ve become good friends with him this year. If you continue living with him, maybe you could become more than friends.”

“Three more days,” Danny whispered, leaning his head onto Tucker’s shoulder. “Tuck, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it if Dash rejects me.”

“I don’t think he’ll reject you,” Tucker assured Danny as he threw an arm around his friend’s shoulders. He knew Dash loved Danny, but he wouldn’t say a word to Danny about that. Dash would have to be the one to tell Danny. But Tucker knew that if Dash rejected Danny after discovering his ghost powers, Danny would break. And Danny might not be able to put himself together again afterwards. Tucker prayed that would never happen.


	13. Chapter 12

Danny stumbled into his dorm room, rubbing his eye with the heel of his palm. After Tucker left because he had class early the next day, Danny had stayed on the roof to think about things. There was something about the roof top and the night sky that made Danny feel relax. He dropped his broken camera on the ground, completely missing the trash can. When he started removing his shirt, he tripped over his feet and landed hard on his rear. He flung his shirt across the room before flopping onto his back.

“What happened to you last night?” Dash glared down at his dorm mate. He noticed the dark bags under Danny’s eyes and knew he hadn’t slept a wink that night. Danny’s torso sported massive bruises from his fight with the jocks. Dash mentally cringed, realizing he had done worse to Danny over their four years at Casper High. And it was all because he couldn’t deal with the fact that he was gay. He wondered why Danny would even consider being his friend after all the times he beat him up.

“I really hate jocks,” Danny muttered, remaining still on the floor with his eyes closed. “They have it so damn easy. They get their stupid scholarships and coast through college. Meanwhile, I have to work my ass off just to get in. And then they can provoke me into starting a fight, and I get kicked out while nothing happens to them. Jocks make me sick!”

Dash winced at Danny’s words. He was also part of the jock stereotype. He had beat Danny up and gotten Danny into trouble with Lancer while nothing happened him since he was their football team’s star player. He deserved every hateful word Danny threw at him.

“The dean kicked you out of college?” Dash asked after a long pause.

“Yeah,” Danny sighed. Finding the strength somewhere inside him, Danny stood but then wavered on his feet. He held his head as a wave of dizziness overcame him. He had been so angry yesterday that he skipped lunch and dinner, and he hadn’t taken his medication to stop the headaches. Dash guided Danny to the couch and forced the man to sit.

“Let me guess. You didn’t eat or take your meds.” Dash stared sternly at his dorm mate. Danny nodded weakly, the action shooting pain through his brain. “I feel like I have to constantly watch over you,” Dash mumbled as he walked over to their kitchen. “You lie down while I fix you some breakfast and get your meds.”

“Can I have blueberry pancakes?” Danny asked, pretending to sound like a five year old.

“If that’s what you really want.” Dash rolled his eyes and grabbed the things he needed to make pancakes. Danny gave a little cheer before curling up on the couch.

“Don’t you have class soon?” Danny asked after noticing the time.

“I can skip it. I already took my finals in all my classes, so we really aren’t doing anything in class,” Dash answered with a shrug. He would rather be taking of Danny than watching the boring videos his professors were showing.

“Dash,” Danny said in a soft voice, “do you still want me to be your roommate next year even though I got kicked out of college?”

Dash looked up from making the pancakes to stare at his dorm mate. “The offer’s still open. I would really rather live in an apartment next year than live in the dorms. And it would be a lot nicer to share a place with someone. If you decide to accept the offer, we can look at apartments over the summer.”

“Guess I’ll have to look for a job then.” Danny smiled in amusement, but it faded quickly into a frown. “My parents will be pissed when they find out I got kicked out.”

“You could always apply to another college,” Dash stated even though he really hated the idea of Danny going out of state for college.

“I think I’ll just take some courses at the community college if it works out with whatever work schedule I’ll have when I get a job. Damn! My parents will never buy me a car now that I got kicked out.”

“I got a car for graduation,” Dash said as he walked toward the couch.

“Sure. Rub it in my face.” Danny glared while he sat up and made room for Dash to sit on the couch.

“That’s not what I was trying to do. I meant that I could let you borrow it when you needed to drive somewhere. I won’t need it if we have an apartment right next to the college.”

“You would really let me use your car?” Danny asked, completely amazed by Dash. “Of course, now I’ll have to get a driver’s license.” Danny cut the pancakes and took a bite of their syrupy goodness.

“You don’t even have a driver’s license?” Dash stared in disbelief at his dorm mate.

“I was kidding,” Danny said through a mouthful of pancakes. He fished into his pocket to retrieve his wallet and tossed it into the jock’s lap. Dash opened it to find that Danny did in fact have a license. Once Danny finished the pancakes, he set the dishes aside. Then he curled up on the couch again, staring intently at Dash’s profile. _Two days until I can feel love again_ , Danny thought as sleep drew him under its alluring spell.

Dash picked up the dirty dishes and walked toward their kitchen. Setting the dishes in the sink, he sprayed water on them to rinse off the sticky residue of the syrup. His gaze drifted back Danny sleeping peacefully on the couch. Grabbing his keys, Dash left their dorm room.

Later that day, Danny awoke to the smell of chocolate. Rolling off the couch, he stumbled toward the kitchen. He leaned over Dash’s shoulder to sneak a peek at what the jock was cooking: brownies. Reaching around Dash, Danny stole one of the brownies off the plate.

“You could ask first, Fenton,” Dash said as he glanced over his shoulder. Danny only shrugged, taking a bite from the delicious, chocolate-filled brownie. “Your sister called a little while ago,” Dash stated, turning around to face his dorm mate. His eyes trailed down Danny’s chest, taking in the sight of his bare torso. Danny still hadn’t put a shirt on again.

“Jazz called? What did she want?” Danny asked as he licked the chocolate from his fingers. Dash stared at him, paying too much attention to what Danny’s tongue was doing that he didn’t hear Danny at first.

“Oh, um,” Dash mumbled as he shook his head to rid himself of thoughts involving him, Danny, a bed, and less clothing. “The dean already informed your parents about you being kicked out.”

“Great,” Danny responded dryly. “First thing that happens when I go back home will be a lecture from my angry parents.”

“Could be worse,” Dash mumbled as he walked by Danny and into their bedroom. He needed to stop staring at Danny’s body before his dorm mate noticed.

“What do you mean it could be worse?” Danny asked puzzled. After he stole another brownie, he plopped onto his bed.

“A lecture isn’t that bad. You have good parents. They would never beat you for making mistakes.”

“What - Do - Are you saying your parents beat you?” Danny stared at his dorm mate with wide eyes.

“Thanks for assuming things, Fenton,” Dash grumbled. “I was just saying that some parents beat their children and sometimes for no reason at all. You should be happy that your parents are only going to give you a lecture.”

“Oh,” Danny said lamely as he frowned. “Sorry. That was stupid of me to assume that your parents beat you.” His eyes grew sad with a hint of guilt as he stared at the jock. Dash only shrugged his shoulders as he looked away. Danny had a strong urge to cross the room and curl up beside Dash on his bed. Then Dash turned his gaze back to Danny. They stared at each other, dark blue meeting light blue, before Danny forced his eyes to look away. He stood and walked into the bathroom. _Just two days_ , Danny reminded himself as he leaned against the bathroom door.

_I wish he would tell what’s really going on with him_ , Dash thought with a frown, staring at the door.


	14. Chapter 13

Pain stared at the other ghost, sleeping in a corner of their current hideout. They weren’t real brothers. As far as Pain could remember, they had always been together so they called each other brother. For now, Palsy slept peacefully thanks to the “meal” provided by the half ghost. However, in one more day, Palsy would return to the living hell brought on by his addiction. After the end of the final day, they would have to fight Danny Phantom again.

Before hunting down Danny Phantom, they had spent a couple of months learning how to control their powers. Pain didn’t care when they took “meals” from other ghosts because their strongest emotions had always been of anger and hatred. However, Danny’s strongest emotion was love. Seeing the half ghost unable to feel love made Pain feel guilty about attacking him, but if he wanted to help his brother, he had to do what Plasmius told them to do.

“I can’t believe we got ourselves into this mess,” Pain mumbled as he stood. He knew he didn’t have to worry about Palsy leaving because his brother had been sleeping for days. That was the way it was after every “meal.” Palsy ate the “meal,” and for a while he would act like everything was normal again. Then four days before the next time he needed to be fed, Palsy would fall into a deep sleep.

Pain phased through the wall of the abandoned building near Casper University. He decided it was time to have a talk with Danny Phantom and find some way to convince Danny to join Plasmius. If Danny joined Plasmius, then they wouldn’t have to steal “meals” from the half ghost. Pain only hoped Plasmius kept his end of the promise.

Finding the half ghost was easy. Danny sat with his friends at their normal table in the small diner near campus. The three friends looked like they were discussing something rather serious. Pain noticed a fourth person walking toward them. It was the guy he always saw hanging around the Goth girl. Pain floated down to man and shoved him to the ground, sending the two bowls of salads clattering across the floor.

“Tom!” Sam shouted as she leaped out of her seat in the booth to help her boyfriend off the ground.

Pain heard Danny whisper “cover me” to Tucker before switching to his ghost form. He phased out of the diner, followed quickly by Danny, who looked extremely pissed at the ghost’s arrival.

“You said a week,” Danny stated as he glared at the ghost. “Why do you keep popping up all the time?”

“Join Plasmius,” Pain said simply.

“You think I’m going to join Vlad just because you come here and tell me to?” Danny’s hands were clenched into tight fists ready to attack Pain at any moment. He didn’t see or sense Palsy anywhere so he wasn’t worried about suddenly being paralyzed.

“You like feeling the pain of your love being ripped away?” Pain snorted as he floated closer to Danny, who flinched away. “I’m not here because I want to be. Palsy and I were perfectly happy with our afterlives until Plasmius got us mixed up in your stupid fight. I don’t want to see my brother suffer anymore because of you. The only way to get out of this is to either kill you or have you join Plasmius’ side, whatever that is.”

“Then you’re just going to have to kill me because I’m never joining that jerk,” Danny growled as a green ecto blast formed in his hand.

“If I had wanted to kill you, do you think I would have let you go last time?” Pain’s hand glowed with a red ecto blast. “Palsy and I just want to be left alone, and we can’t do that until after you are destroyed or join Plasmius.”

“If you really just wanted to be left alone, then why don’t you stop doing what Vlad wants you to do?” Danny’s voice held less anger in it. This was what he had wondered about since the day at the hospital.

“That’s not an option.” Pain’s face twisted more with anger. “It’s your fault that Plasmius gave my brother this addiction. You better take responsibility for it because if you don’t, next time I won’t hesitate to take from you again.”

“Addiction?” Danny blinked as the ecto blast faded from his hand. “What is this addiction?”

“Palsy has to feed on the ‘meals’ of a ghost’s strongest emotion,” Pain answered, relaxing out of a fighting stance as his ecto blast also vanished from his hand. “If he doesn’t feed once a week, his soul starts to slowly disintegrate. If he doesn’t feed in over four weeks, his soul will completely disappear. I can’t stand watching my brother slowly fade away because of something we’re not even involved in. Do you know what it’s like to watch your only family scream in constant pain as he disappears when he didn’t do anything to deserve it? It’s your fight. So why do my brother and I have to suffer because of it?”

“I,” Danny said, frowning, as he stared at the ghost. He hated Vlad even more now for making innocent ghosts suffer. Danny could only describe what Vlad felt for his mother as lust since a person needed a heart to love, and Vlad definitely didn’t have a heart.

“Plasmius said if we got rid of you, he would cure my brother’s addiction,” Pain said when Danny remained silent.

“You can’t trust anything Vlad tells you. He’ll use all kinds of tricks to get what he wants. Once he has it, he’ll just throw you out like garbage. He doesn’t care what happens to you and your brother.”

“I can’t just sit back and let my brother die,” Pain growled, his mouth becoming a thin line.

“There has to be some way to cure your brother that doesn’t involve Vlad’s help. You don’t need to do what he says.” Danny didn’t want to have to fight the brothers again, especially now that he heard why they were following Vlad’s orders.

“I can’t take the chance. Plasmius might be the only one who can cure my brother. I won’t let my brother disappear.”

“I don’t want to fight you.”

“I don’t want to either, but I guess we have no choice. I’ll see you again when the final day is up.” Pain vanished before Danny could try to convince him further to stop doing as Vlad told him. He couldn’t risk losing his brother. 

Danny floated back to the ground. After making sure no one was around, he switched back to human form. He walked into the diner to join his friends; his mind stuck on Pain’s reason for acting under Vlad’s order. Pain only wanted to save his brother from disappearing. Danny wanted to help them, but he didn’t know where to start looking for a way to cure Palsy’s addiction.

“You look like you’ve got something on your mind,” Tom said to Danny when the man flopped down beside Tucker at the booth.

“Oh, I was just thinking about some… things,” Danny replied with a forced smile. Sam and Tucker gave him a questioning look, silently asking if it had anything to do with ghosts. Danny nodded slightly before closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the padded booth. He would tell them about the encounter with Pain later when Tom wasn’t with them.


	15. Chapter 14

“After today, you’ll regain your ability to love again,” Sam said, walking beside her friend. “You don’t seem very happy about it.”

“I am happy about that,” Danny reassured her with a smile. “It’s just this whole thing with Pain and Palsy. As soon as today ends, they’ll attack me again, and I don’t want to fight them.”

“They did choose to side with Vlad though.” Sam knew that really wasn’t a good enough reason. But she feared Danny might lose to the ghost duo again if he continued to worry about the ghosts instead of his own safety.

“But there has to be some way to help them,” Danny mumbled with a sigh, coming to a halt before his dorm building.

“Danny, you have a good heart for wanting to help them, but you tried to convince him not to follow Vlad. Pain made his decision. He’s not going to listen to you. You have to fight him.” Sam could see the conflict in Danny’s eyes as he thought about his options in this situation.

“I still think I should try talking to him again,” Danny stated as he frowned. He doubted he could convince Pain, but he needed to try. “Anyway, I still have lots of things to pack up before heading back home.”

“Are you going to need a ride? I’m sure there will plenty of room in my car,” Sam inquired.

“Oh, um, actually, Dash already offered me a ride,” Danny answered with a light blush tingeing his cheeks.

“Have fun!” Sam smirked. “I gotta go pack too.” She waved as she walked away toward her dorm.

Danny entered the building and climbed the stairs to his dorm room. When he reached his floor, Danny spotted a familiar red head standing outside the door to his room. _Why is she back here?_ Danny wondered, anger coursing through his veins.

“Couldn’t you just give me a chance, Dash?” Miranda pleaded.

“Are you really that stupid?” Dash glared at the girl before him. “I told you I was gay. And even if I were bi, I’m not attracted to you in any way. Besides you called my dorm mate a loser. You told the whole school he was gay even though he was just figuring out his sexual preference. And don’t think for one second that I don’t know that you told those football jocks to provoke Fenton into a fight. Why do you think you have any chance with me?”

“Please, Dash,” Miranda begged. “I just wanted to get your attention.”

“Using my dorm mate and then getting him kicked out of school isn’t the best way to get my attention. I want you to leave and never bother me or Fenton again. If you do anything to him again, I won’t hesitant to hurt you just as much as you hurt him.”

Miranda turned down the hallway, tears streaming down her cheeks. She shoved Danny out of her way as she raced down the stairs. Danny looked toward Dash, who stared back at him with wide eyes. Dash walked back into their room. Danny jogged the rest of the way down the hall. When he entered their room, he found Dash folding up his clothes to be packed into boxes.

“You know, I really don’t understand why girls wouldn’t like you,” Dash admitted as he tossed his folded shirt aside. “You’re smart. You’ve got a sense of humor. You care about people and always want to help them in any way you can. You’re a loyal friend.” Dash sighed, dropping onto his bed and rubbing his forehead. “But instead they take one look at me and think ‘oh, he’s a jock so he must be stupid and only interested in sports and girls with big breasts.’ So I get these moronic girls throwing themselves at me or using other people to get closer to me. And they don’t seem to get that I’m not interested in them at all.”

“Well, um, at least Miranda can’t chase after you over the summer,” Danny commented uncertainly.

“She told the whole school you were gay, but she never said anything about me being gay. Maybe I should have just come out earlier, but I was afraid of losing my friends because of it.”

“If they can’t accept you for the person you are, then they really weren’t your friends,” Danny said, though he thought it sounded a little cheesy. “Well, you know I’m going to accept you for being gay. And Sam and Tucker will accept you too. So it’s not like you won’t have any friends after you come out.”

“I don’t know about Sam and Tucker,” Dash said with a bitter laugh. “But I know Kwan will always be my friend.”

“It’s not like they hate you. Well, I don’t think they do anyway.” Danny frowned, his brow knitting in thought. He glanced over to find Dash staring at him like he wasn’t really paying attention to what Danny said. “Uh, well, anyway, let’s finish packing so we can get out of here.”

Dash blinked, taking a moment to recall what Danny had just said. “Are you really that anxious to get rid of me?” Dash laughed a little.

“Oh, yeah, living with you has been torture.” Danny rolled his eyes. “At least I got some great meals out of it.” He pulled out a box from under his bed and then started to pack away his clothes. Dash shook his head with a small smile on his face before continuing to pack up his stuff.

Once they had finished packing, they carried their stuff down to Dash’s car. It took a couple trips, but they finally got everything stuffed into the trunk and back seat of the car. Dash slammed the trunk shut and turned back to Danny.

“Any last goodbyes you want to say to people before we hit the road back home?” Dash questioned.

“Nope,” Danny answered as he opened the passenger’s side door. They got into the car and started their two hour ride back to their homes. Danny leaned back in his seat, getting comfortable, as the hum of the car’s engine lulled him to sleep.

 

“Aren’t you getting out?” Dash asked as they sat in the car in front of Fenton Works.

Danny looked out the window and stared at his home. “They’re going to yell at me,” he said quietly. “I know they could do a lot worse than yell, but I hate disappointing them like this.”

“I’m sure if you explain what happened, they’ll understand,” Dash offered, hoping to encourage the other man to confront his parents.

“But I still got kicked out of school.” Danny turned back to Dash with a frown set on his face.

“But you’ve made plans for your future. You’re going to look for a job and take some courses at the community college.” Dash reached out and placed a hand on Danny’s shoulders. “Your parents only lecture you because they care for you and are concerned about you. Just explain to them what happened and what you plan to do now.”

“Help me carry my stuff in?” Danny asked, his eyes pleading the jock.

Dash nodded as he opened his door. Danny took a deep breath and released it before getting out of the car as well. Dash grabbed the big box with Danny’s computer in it as Danny carried two boxes filled with clothes and books. They walked up to the front door side by side. Danny hesitated about opening the door until Dash gave him a nudge to the ribcage. Danny pushed the door open and entered his home. Dash followed, kicking the door closed behind him. When they came to the living room to set Danny’s things down, they were faced with Danny’s mother.

“How could you get kicked out of college, Danny?” Maddie demanded with her arms folded over her chest and a stern expression on her face.

“You’re looking lovely today, Mrs. Fenton,” Dash complimented after setting down the box.

“Flattery will get you nowhere.” Maddie turned her glare onto the jock. “And what are you doing here with my son, Baxter?”

“We shared a dorm room together,” Danny answered. “He offered to give me a ride back from college.”

“The dean told me that you were causing trouble, Daniel. Care to explain just what happened? Why did you slap that girl? Why did you start a fight? Why did you punch a teacher? I want to know. Explain.”

“I slapped Miranda because she used me to get Dash’s attention. Then she was being mean in class and called me a fag. And I guess I just lost control and slapped her. The football jocks had been picking on me all year long. Then one day they throw a paint balloon at me. I was going to walk away until one of them threw a rock at me. And I didn’t mean to punch Peghorn. I was trying to defend myself from the jocks when he stepped in to break up the fight,” Danny explained quickly and tried not ramble too much.

“Why would that girl call you a fag?” Maddie looked at her son curiously.

Danny froze up, unable to answer her simple question. Dash gave him a little push, and Danny stumbled forward. Maddie glanced between the two men, wondering if the two were more than just dorm mates.

“Mom, I… I’m gay,” Danny stuttered.

Dash noticed Danny shaking with fear that his mother wouldn’t accept him. Maddie sat down slowly, her eyes growing wide. Silence fell over the room, and Danny felt even more terrified that his mother would start screaming at him for being gay.

“Since when?” Maddie finally broke the silence.

“Since about two weeks ago,” Danny answered nervously. “Girls just never really liked me in that way. It just felt right to me to be with another guy.”

“To be with another guy?” Maddie exclaimed.

“I didn’t mean that in a sexual way,” Danny said quickly. “I haven’t done it with anyone yet. I just meant that I enjoy the company of a boy more than that of a girl. I find myself more attracted to boys than girls.” Danny watched his mother’s reaction as she fully absorbed the fact that Danny was gay. Seeing how much it shocked her, Danny wondered how she would react to his ghost powers. The look on his mother’s face showed Danny just how disappointed she was with him. Danny felt his heart breaking as the years of being a failure piled onto him.

“Mrs. Fenton, I know this all shocking for you, and I know you’re disappointed about Danny being kicked out of college,” Dash started. “But Danny’s already made plans for his future.”

“So you’ve already sent out applications to other colleges?” Maddie inquired, her gaze turning hopeful.

“Actually, I was going to get a job and taking some courses at the community college if the classes don’t conflict with the work schedule I get,” Danny answered. His gut twisted in knots as he waited for her reaction. Maddie frowned at his response, and Danny felt his stomach drop.

“That’s not exactly what I was hoping for,” Maddie stated after a moment. Danny already knew she wasn’t happy with his decision. “But at least you have some idea of what you want to do for now.”

“You’re not too disappointed, are you?” Danny wondered out loud, still worried.

“I can’t say I’m entirely happy with your choices.” Maddie sighed. “But given the circumstances of your situation, I’m glad you’re capable of thinking about your future. You should start looking for a job as soon as possible.”

“I will,” Danny answered with a nod. Relief flowed through him after hearing his mother wasn’t disappointed in him. Much.

“Mrs. Fenton, would it be all right if Danny and I hung out later this evening?” Dash questioned. “It would be sort of like a celebration surviving one year of college.”

“That would be okay,” Maddie said as she smiled at the jock.

“We’ll go get the rest of my stuff now,” Danny said as he pushed Dash toward the door. “You’re such a suck up,” Danny muttered as they walked back to Dash’s car.

“I was being polite,” Dash argued, offended at being called a suck up.

“Oh yeah,” Danny said, rolling his eyes. “Mrs. Fenton, you’re looking lovely today,” Danny mimicked. Dash glowered at the shorter man before dumping a box into Danny’s arms. Once they unloaded Danny’s stuff, they decided on a time to meet. Danny waved from his doorway as Dash drove away.

 

“You didn’t tell your parents that you’re moving into an apartment with me, did you?” Dash questioned as they walked down the street from Nasty Burger. They had received a lot of stares since no one thought the two men could ever be friends.

“I think I’m going to wait until they get used to the idea that I’m gay,” Danny answered. His hand brushed against Dash’s hand, but this time he didn’t snap it away. Danny’s heart began pounding in his chest when he felt Dash’s hand start to take hold of his hand. Then suddenly the feel of Dash’s hand disappeared. Danny glanced down quickly and noticed it was his hand that had disappeared. “Hey, Dash, what time is it?”

“Um,” Dash rolled up his sleeve and looked at his watch. “It’s about five minutes after midnight.” With questioning look, he turned back to Danny. “You don’t have a curfew, do you?”

“No,” Danny replied, shaking his head, as a smile slipped onto his face. _The week is finally up, which means I can feel love again_ , Danny thought happily. But then his smile faded as he realized that also meant Pain and Palsy would be after him again.

“Fenton,” Dash said, stopping before the shorter man in the middle of the street.

Danny blinked at him, confusion shining clearly in his eyes. Holding Danny’s hands, Dash took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to do. He didn’t know how Danny really felt about him, but he couldn’t resist any longer. Dash leaned in closer to the other man. A dark blush crept onto Danny’s face, and his heart started pounding faster in his chest at the thought of Dash kissing him.

Before the jock’s lips met with his, Danny felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. The person tackled him to the ground, the rough pavement cutting through the back of his shirt as he skidded half way down the street. When they came to a stop, Danny finally looked up at his attacker. Palsy stared down at him with a wild look in his red eyes. A crazed grin came onto his face as he climbed off the half ghost.

Without Palsy blocking his vision, Danny noticed Pain floating high above them. One of his ecto blasts already headed straight for the half ghost. Danny tried to move, to go ghost, to do something. Only this time he was completely paralyzed. Instead of one paralysis band around Danny’s forehead, Palsy had placed two bands around his wrists, doubling the paralysis effect. It completely immobilized Danny and made him an easy target for their attack. Danny clamped his eyes shut, waiting for the blast to hit.


	16. Chapter 15

Danny slowly cracked his eyes open when the ecto blast never hit him. Looking out the corner of his eye, Danny stared at the back of Dash’s head, which explained the extra weight above him. Dash had protected him from the blast! Danny turned his angry gaze toward the ghosts.

Pain looked angry at the fact that Dash had blocked his blast from hitting its target. However, the crazed expression on Palsy’s face vanished as he stared at the two men lying on the ground. A frown set on his face; Palsy’s eyes glazed over with a look of pain like remembering some terrible event.

Palsy landed on the ground and slowly approached the two men. Fear curled in a tight knot in Danny’s gut as he wondered what the ghost had planned. Danny hated this feeling of weakness cascading over him in thick torrents. Taking hold of the half ghost’s wrists, Palsy dragged Danny out from under the jock. Danny glared at the ghost until he noticed Palsy had removed the paralysis bands.

“Why?” Danny asked as his brow creased in confusion. He could see the conflict of sanity and insanity dancing in Palsy’s red eyes.

“Be-because,” Palsy stated, his voice quivering, as he tried to stay in control and not let the addiction take over his body. “It can’t be like this.”

Danny started to speak when his ghost sense escaped his open mouth in a blue wisp. Both Palsy and Danny turned their heads to see another ghost had arrived on the scene. Pain had already noticed the new ghost and prepared an ecto blast. Palsy shoved Danny away before flying off to help Pain fight. Danny stumbled and tripped over Dash’s unconscious body. His head banged painfully on the pavement, making him wince.

A sudden shriek of agony snapped Danny’s attention back to the three fighting ghosts. Danny looked upward to find Palsy had blocked the blast of the new ghost. With a gaping hole in his left side, Palsy hung onto the stunned Pain, protecting his brother from any further blasts. Switching into ghost form, Danny launched into the air to join the fight.

“Skulker! What are you doing here?” Danny shouted when he was able to recognize the third ghost.

“Obviously I’m here to help you fight,” Skulker answered with a snort. “And thanks to some modifications to your father’s invention, the Fenton Ghost Peeler, I can completely destroy these two ghosts so not even a speck of their souls is left.”

“You can’t do that!” Danny shouted. “They’re just being used by Vlad. If we help them, then there’s no reason to destroy them.”

“You can’t help us,” Pain growled, throwing an ecto blast at the half ghost. Danny dodged it easily now that he wasn’t under Palsy’s paralysis effect.

“S-stop!” Palsy screamed. His arms tightened around Pain’s neck. “I can’t go through this anymore. It’s too much.”

The hateful look on Pain’s face melted into an expression of sorrow. He placed a hand on the spot where the blast had hit Palsy. It had become worse, slowly growing bigger.

“What’s going on?” Danny asked; worry and confusion clear in his blue eyes.

“I - I remember how we died,” Palsy answered. He took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. “I remembered when I saw that man protect the half ghost. You tried to protect me when we died. B-but there were too many, and I was killed too.” Palsy released a short laugh. “You were always protecting me. B-but this time, I got to protect you.”

“I don’t want to lose you,” Pain said as a sob escaped him, tears flowing down his cheeks.

Danny never thought it was possible for a ghost to cry. He watched speechlessly as Pain held his dying brother’s soul. He wanted to do something to save Palsy, but he didn’t have a clue about what would cure the addiction. The progress quickened until the last iota of Palsy’s soul faded away. Pain was left gasping for breath at the lost of his brother.

Danny felt his throat constrict, making it hard to breathe. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. He was supposed to help the pair and find a cure for Palsy’s addiction. Danny glanced toward Skulker, who now wore a grim expression on his face. Skulker didn’t understand the situation fully but knew that Vlad had something to do with this tragedy. Vlad had to have done something more than simply hire the pair to attack Danny.

“Your weapon,” Pain spoke after a long silence. “You said it could completely destroy a ghost.”

“Pain, you can’t,” Danny pleaded. He didn’t want to see another ghost die before him.

“Danny, I know you wanted to help us, but obviously there was nothing you could do,” Pain said with a helpless look on his face. “All I wanted to do was protect my brother, and I couldn’t do that. He’s gone now. I have no reason to remain on this plane. Um, Skulker, was it?” He turned to the other ghost, and Skulker nodded. “Please put an end to my miserable existence.”

Pain spread his arms as he closed his eyes. Skulker raised his newly equipped modification of the Fenton Ghost Peeler toward Pain. He hesitated, the situation having changed since he first arrived. Then he pulled the trigger and blasted Pain until he was sure nothing remained of his soul. Danny floated back to the ground and collapsed to his knees. Skulker landed before him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Danny, they couldn’t be helped,” Skulker stated. “At least now, they can’t be used by Plasmius anymore, and they can still be together.”

“But I wasn’t able to help them,” Danny shouted; hands clenched tightly.

“I don’t think you could help them,” Skulker said, almost not believing that he had once again helped the half ghost.

Danny turned to stare up at Skulker. His eyes held a lost look, needing to know why this happened; why two innocent ghosts had to sacrifice their afterlife in a battle they were never supposed to be part of. Sighing in defeat, Skulker bent down on one knee before the half ghost.

“Whatever Plasmius did to them, I don’t think it really had a cure, so you couldn’t have helped them no matter how much you wanted to.”

Danny’s expression only grew even sadder. He couldn’t accept that explanation of why Pain and Palsy were destroyed but knew it was most likely correct.

“We should get your buddy to the hospital,” Skulker suggested. “That wound really needs to be tended to.” Standing, Skulker picked up the jock’s unconscious body. Danny flew behind them as they headed to the hospital. He glanced over his shoulder at the spot where Palsy and Pain had met their demise before turning to catch up with Skulker.

 

When he came to, Dash woke with a throbbing headache. He squinted from the morning sunlight pouring in through the window across the room. After his eyes adjusted, Dash realized he was in a hospital room. His eyes slipped shut for a moment as he tried to recall how he ended up in the hospital. Then he remembered diving onto Danny’s body right before that - Dash couldn’t think of what to call it, but it had hurt a lot. It hurt so much that Dash passed out from the pain. His eyes snapped open as he sat up quickly, wincing at the pain it brought to his back. But only one thing was on his mind at that moment: what happened to Fenton?

Dash swung his legs over the edge of the hospital bed and started to stand, ignoring the pain and cords that were ripped from his body. He paused when he spotted the other man sitting on a plastic chair in the corner of the room. Danny had his knees drawn up with his head buried in his arms. Dash slowly made his way over to him, dropping to his knees. He shook Danny gently to get his attention. Danny lifted his head and stared at Dash silently. His eyes were red and puffy with tear tracks staining his cheeks. Their bright hue had dimmed with a sorrowful look that now filled his eyes. Dash frowned, wondering what happened after he fell unconscious.

“You shouldn’t have gotten in the way of that ecto blast,” Danny whispered in a shaky voice. “It could have done a lot worse than just give you minor burn marks on your back.”

“I was trying to protect you,” Dash said in earnest. “I thought that thing was going to kill you!”

“Don’t throw your life away so carelessly for me.” Danny didn’t want to see Dash die protecting him. It reminded him too much of how Pain tried to protect Palsy before they became ghosts and how Palsy had tried protecting Pain when Skulker shot the Fenton Ghost Peeler at Pain.

“Fen- no, Danny, what happened after I was knocked unconscious by that _thing_?” Dash couldn’t remember what Danny had called it. Danny dropped his gaze and remained silent. Dash gave his shoulder a squeeze, encouraging Danny to tell him.

“There are a lot of things I need to tell you,” Danny finally said with a sigh, still not meeting Dash’s gaze. He was still fearful of the jock’s reaction to the truth, but Dash was involved in the whole thing now that he had protected Danny from the ecto blast. _It’s only fair that I tell him the truth_ , Danny thought, finally lifting his gaze to meet Dash’s.


	17. Chapter 16

“I’m half ghost.”

The words echoed through Dash’s mind as he stared at the barren white wall. How was he supposed to react to that statement? After three days, he still didn’t know the answer. Dash had listened in stunned silence while Danny explained how he became half ghost. Danny continued by telling Dash about his first encounter with Vlad and why Vlad wanted to get rid of him. Then he finally told the truth about what happened the night he had cried on Dash’s shoulder and the previous night when Dash got hurt protecting him. Once he finished telling the jock everything, Danny watched Dash, chewing on his lower lip, as he feared the other’s reaction. But Dash could only stare at him. He didn’t know what to say. He never could have imagined Danny would be hiding that kind of secret. The two men sat there, gazing into the other’s eyes for at least an hour, before Danny simply vanished.

Dash turned his gaze to the blue plastic chair in the corner of the room. He almost wondered if Danny was sitting there, invisible, and waiting for Dash to react to his secret. For some reason, he knew Danny left three days ago and hadn't returned since then. Dash lifted his eyes to the open doorway when he noticed a shadow on the floor.

“Jazz?” Dash’s brow rose, surprised to see the older Fenton sibling come to visit him.

“Dash.” Jazz frowned, walking farther into the hospital room. She dragged the plastic chair over to the side of the jock’s bed. Dash stared at the corner for a moment before redirecting his gaze back to Jazz.

“Why did you come here?” Dash questioned.

“Because I’m worried about Danny," Jazz answered and then after a sight hesitation, "and you.” Her brow knitted in concern. “Danny told me you were in the hospital. He blames himself for what happened to you.”

“But it’s not his fault,” Dash argued. “I’m the one who jumped before that blast. I made that decision.”

“I know that, but Danny thinks if he didn’t have his powers, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt protecting him,” Jazz explained. “When he came home from the hospital, he was so depressed. It took me this long just to get him to tell me what was wrong. He told me what had happened and that he told you about his ghost powers. I never would have believed it, but Danny really cares a lot about you. If you reject him now because of his powers, I - I don’t know if he could handle that.”

Dash turned his gaze back to the corner. He was silent for a long time before finally speaking. “I wasn’t planning on rejecting him. I just,” Dash paused as he looked back toward Jazz. “How am I supposed to react to everything he told me? I’ve thought about it these last three days, and I still don’t know.”

“But you still care for him, right?”

“Of course,” Dash answered, lips thinning in offense to the idea that his feelings would change because of what Danny told him.

“Then why did you hesitate to say something? All you need to do is accept him for being half ghost. You need to tell him now because it’s killing him to think that you’re going to reject him,” Jazz shouted in frustration.

“I was in shock! Weren’t you shocked when he told you he was half ghost?”

“No, because I had already found out he was half ghost before he told me.” Jazz sighed, glancing down at her watch. “I have to go soon to meet with my supervisor. I just wanted to stop by and tell you that Danny really needs you right now.” She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope. Then she threw it into Dash’s lap. “I was told to give you this.” Standing up, Jazz left the hospital room.

Dash picked up the envelope, staring at his name scrolled out in an elegant script. Opening the envelope, he pulled out the folded piece of paper. It was an invitation to a party that night. _How convenient_ , Dash thought. The doctors would be releasing him in an hour, so he would be able to make it to the party.

 

“Danny, you’ve been moping around for the past three days,” Sam stated, looking at her friend in concern.

“I - I told Dash,” Danny whispered. His voice sounded hoarse like he cried his eyes out over the last three days. “I told him that I’m half ghost.”

“What did he say?” Sam asked. _If he breaks Danny’s heart, I’m going to break his neck_ , Sam vowed.

“He didn’t say anything! He just stared at me.” Danny dropped his gaze to his uneaten burger. “I couldn’t take the silence so I left. I didn’t even ask him not to tell anyone.”

“Maybe he was just too shocked,” Sam suggested, hoping that was the truth. She hated seeing Danny hurt by rejection. She had seen it happen too many times when Danny was chasing girls he could never get. Now Danny finally found someone he could have a real relationship with, but his secret might have destroyed that. Sam prayed the truth wouldn’t scare Dash away.

“Maybe,” Danny mumbled. “I think I’m going to go home now.” He stood up, getting ready to leave the Nasty Burger, but Sam grabbed his arm.

“Danny, eat something,” Sam ordered. It was obvious Danny had been skipping meals the last three days. He had lost a little weight, making him look even scrawnier. Danny sat down again. He stared at the burger, and a nauseous expression crossed his face.

“I won’t be able to hold that down,” Danny said, pushing the burger as far away as the table allowed him.

“You can’t just stop eating because of this,” Sam complained as she grew more worried about her friend.

“Hey! Sorry, I’m late,” Tucker greeted. He plopped into the seat next to Danny at the table. One look at Danny made Tucker frown. “What’s wrong with you?”

“He told Dash about being half ghost,” Sam whispered.

“Oh,” Tucker replied with an understanding nod. “I’m guessing Dash didn’t take the secret too well.”

“He didn’t take it at all,” Danny mumbled. Tucker looked at his friend in confusion.

“Dash didn’t give him any sort of reaction,” Sam offered since Danny remained silent.

“He could have just been in shock,” Tucker said after a moment.

“I already said that. So why were you so late?”

“I ran into Jazz on the way here, so I asked her to pass something along for me. Are you going to eat that?” Tucker pointed toward the still uneaten burger. Danny slid it over to his friend, which resulted in a glare from Sam. “Anyway, I have something for the both of you.” Tucker reached into his pocket and pulled out two envelopes. He gave one to Sam and the other to Danny.

“Paulina’s inviting us to a party?” Sam inquired, raising a questioning brow.

“Yeah, she’s nothing like how she was at the beginning of high school. She really wants you two to come.”

“Do I hear wedding bells sometime in the future?” Danny asked, resting his chin in one hand.

“Shut up, Danny! Paulina and I are just friends,” Tucker replied.

“But you wouldn’t mind if you two became more than friends.” Danny smirked when he noticed the blush that bloomed on Tucker’s face. “What did you ask Jazz to pass along?”

“Nothing important,” Tucker answered as he waved off the question before taking a huge bite from the burger. Danny frowned but decided to let it slide. It was summer, and he was going to Paulina’s party that night so he should be happy and excited. But he couldn’t stop wondering how Dash was going to react. Would Dash accept him? Reject him? Tell everyone the truth about him?

 

“I’m so glad you could make it,” Paulina squealed as she drew Dash into a friendly hug. “Tucker told me that you were in the hospital. What happened?”

“It’s a long, boring story,” Dash assured her. His back still hurt a lot, but he wasn’t going to allow anyone at the party to see him wincing in pain.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t have to stay longer.” Paulina gave him a small smile as she took his arm and pulled him to another room in her house. “Now I don’t know what’s going on, but Danny only gave me this weak ass attempt at a smile when he arrived. And since then, he’s been moping in a corner. He’s not even talking to Sam and Tucker. I tried talking to him, but he wouldn’t speak more than two words at a time to me. I don’t want people feeling depressed at my party. So could you do something to help cheer him up?”

“I did want to speak to him,” Dash mumbled as he stared at Danny leaning against the wall in the far corner. The man had his head down while he played with the hem of his shirt. Dash crossed the room, coming to stand before the other man. “Fenton.”

“Back to calling me that already,” Danny muttered with a bitter laugh. He wouldn’t look up to meet Dash’s gaze. His hands stopped messing with his shirt as he awkwardly folded his arms across his chest.

Dash glanced around the room. Releasing a sigh, he grabbed Danny’s arm and dragged the other man out of the room. He didn’t want to speak with all those other people around them. Once they were outside, Dash let go of Danny’s arm. The music, blaring from inside the house, could still be heard, but at least now they were alone.

“How’s your back?” Danny asked quietly, worried about the jock’s wound.

“It’s better. Not completely healed, but it hurts less than when I first woke up,” Dash answered, giving a small shrug.

“Well, that’s good,” Danny mumbled. He felt the world closing in on him, and he needed to escape before everything came crumbling down on him.

“At least look at me,” Dash said as he cupped the man’s face.

Danny slowly lifted his head and met Dash’s gaze. His eyes shone with fear, still waiting for Dash’s reaction to his secret.

“I’m sorry,” Dash said, sighing, as he closed his eyes for a moment. “I shouldn’t have made you wait this long, but at that time, I was too shocked to say anything.” Dash stepped closer to Danny. “I was so stupid. It shouldn’t matter what your secret was because my feelings for you didn’t change after hearing that you’re half ghost.”

Danny’s eyes slipped shut as he leaned his head against Dash’s chest. “I really thought you would hate me after hearing everything I told you,” Danny stated with a tremble in his voice.

“I don’t think I could ever hate you,” Dash whispered into Danny’s ear as he drew the man into a tight embrace. A frown crept onto Dash’s face when he felt the obvious loss of some weight. “You’ve skipped some meals, haven’t you?”

“I was too worried about your reaction to eat,” Danny admitted.

“You’re already as thin as a twig. You need to eat proper meals. Skipping meals for three days is really bad for you.”

Unseen by the two men outside, three members of the party smirked at each other while they watched the pair. _Now to get Tucker and Paulina together_ , Sam thought after noticing the two kept stealing glances at each other.


	18. Chapter 17

“Where are you going?” Tucker demanded as he grabbed Danny’s hand before his friend could stand.

“I have a date with Dash. He’s picking me up in ten minutes, so I’m going outside to wait for him,” Danny answered.

“So you’re just leaving me here with Paulina?” Tucker stared at Danny like he was crazy.

“You and Paulina get along well together. You don’t need me to stay here with you.” Danny started to leave the table again when Tucker yanked on his arm and dragged him back into his seat.

“You can’t just leave. You’re the one who arranged this whole thing. What’s Paulina gonna think when she comes back and finds you’re gone?” Tucker whispered to avoid gaining the unwanted attention of the rest of the restaurant.

“I know I invited you both to dinner, but that was before I remembered tonight was the day I had a date with Dash.” Danny sighed, feeling only a little guilty. He _had_ remembered his date but thought this would be a good opportunity to get Paulina and Tucker alone together. After observing the two for a week, Dash agreed to help with Danny’s plan.

“But if you leave, she might think this is like a - a date!” Tucker stuttered as his cheeks grew red.

“And what’s wrong with that? I think you two should give a relationship a try. You’d make a great couple. And if you make me cancel my first date with Dash, he’s going to hunt you down and kill you,” Danny threatened. Tucker immediately released Danny’s arm.

“I don’t think Paulina would be interested in me in that way,” Tucker mumbled, playing with the fork on the table.

“You’ll never know if you don’t give it a try,” Danny said encouragingly. “I gotta get going now. I don’t want to keep Dash waiting.” Danny stood and headed toward the entrance of the restaurant. A minute after Danny left, Paulina returned to the table.

“I just saw Danny leaving. Did something come up?” Paulina asked as she smoothed out her skirt.

“Yeah, he forgot he had a date with Dash tonight,” Tucker answered with a nervous laugh.

“I’m so happy for them. It’s about time they finally have a date.” Paulina looked up to Tucker with a bright smile on her face. She fell silent as she realized they were alone together now that Danny had left. “So have you decided on what you’re going order yet?” Paulina picked up her menu, and when she skimmed over the items, her eyes grew wide at the prices.

What was Danny thinking when he picked this restaurant? She couldn’t afford anything on this menu with her measly paychecks from her part-time job. She needed to save every last penny in order to move out and into her own apartment. Her parents said if she wanted her own place, she would have to pay for it on her own.

“Actually,” Tucker said and bit his lip a little embarrassed, “I can’t afford any of this.”

“We could go somewhere else," Paulina suggested, "like the Nasty Burger. At least the food there wouldn’t set me back about five paychecks.” Paulina set the menu back on the table. Then she stood up, slinging her purse over her shoulder.

“You wouldn’t mind going someplace like that?” Tucker asked, a little amazed, as he followed Paulina out of the restaurant.

“I do like the Nasty Burger, you know.” Paulina slowed her pace so that she was walking beside Tucker. She glanced at the man, brushing back a lock of her dark hair, as a soft smile spread onto her face. She hadn’t realized until just now how much she enjoyed being with Tucker. Even when he was helping her with her school work, there was always this nice, calm atmosphere around them. Paulina liked that.

Tucker was different from other guys, but not in the same way as Dash and Danny, of course. He didn’t act around her like other guys who were always putting on a show to get her attention or saying lame pick-up lines. Paulina liked talking with him and never felt as though she had to try that hard to impress him. She could actually talk to him about things that she felt were important instead of listening to him spout off false stories to prove his manliness. Paulina liked that Tucker didn’t make up stories to impress her. And he always seemed to know a way to cheer her up when she was feeling depressed. _Maybe I really am falling for him_ , Paulina thought as she started walking a little closer to Tucker.

 

“Why did you choose that restaurant?” Dash questioned as he drove down the street. “There’s no way those two can afford anything there. And I bet the food sucks.”

“I don’t know. I just picked a random place,” Danny answered with a shrug. “Where are we going anyway?” Danny glanced out the window but didn’t recognize the area.

“You’ll see.” Dash smirked when Danny let a sigh of frustration.

Dash finally parked the car near what looked like a preschool. The two men climbed out of the car, and Dash grabbed a picnic basket from the backseat before leading the way to the grassy area next to the playground. He set the basket down and then laid out a blanket on the ground.

“You must think I’m cheap for bringing you here instead of to a fancy restaurant,” Dash muttered as he knelt on the ground. He began unloading the basket as Danny joined him on the blanket. The night had grown dark a few hours ago, but the street lamps provided enough light for them to see.

“It’s not like you have to take me somewhere fancy just to impress me,” Danny said with a smirk. He glanced around the playground and small school. Then he turned back to Dash. “I haven’t been back here in ages.”

“Well duh! We’ve been out of preschool for years now,” Dash said with a roll of his eyes, but a smirk tugged on his lips.

Danny smiled for a moment before it faded into a frown. He accepted the sandwiches that Dash offered him. A simple meal, but Danny knew it would still be delicious since everything Dash made tasted great. Danny stared at the plate, thinking about past memories that he had almost forgotten.

“Is something wrong?” Dash questioned. He grew worried when Danny didn’t immediately start devouring the sandwiches.

“Just thinking,” Danny answered and lifted his gaze to the blond jock. “We were really good friends in preschool, weren’t we?”

“I - I guess we were,” Dash stuttered, trying to remember that far back. “We did play together a lot back then.”

“You told me you were going to attend Casper Elementary School after preschool, but I didn’t see again until high school,” Danny said with a frown. “And as soon as we met again, you started picking on me. I’ve been thinking about it a little since Paulina’s party, but… What happened that made you hate me at the beginning of high school?”

“I didn’t hate you,” Dash exclaimed in defense. “I picked on you because,” he paused as he shrugged looking away. “My father made me go to another elementary school that focused more on developing my football skills than academics. I didn’t exactly like it, but I didn’t have choice. When I saw you again in high school, I remembered you from preschool. I was going to try and make friends with you again until I heard the other football jocks making fun of you and your friends. I didn’t want them to think of me as a loser so I started picking on you. For some reason, it was fun so I continued. I guess it was like a way to keep in contact with you and not have my football buddies think we were actual friends. It wasn’t until junior year that I realized I wanted to be more than just friends with you, but I couldn’t say anything because of my buddies and because I didn’t know how you would react.”

“If I had known it was like that, I wouldn’t have pulled all those pranks on you,” Danny said as he gave a nervous grin and then quickly took a bite out of a sandwich.

“Pranks?” Dash raised a brow, wondering how Danny could have ever pulled a prank on him. His eyes grew wide as he remembered Danny’s ghost powers. “What exactly did you do?”

“I - um - overshadowed you a few times and made up lies when you were talking to Paulina,” Danny answered hesitantly. “I put those frogs down your pants too. I only wanted to get you back for all the things you did to me.”

“I guess I deserve that.” Dash thought for a bit and then remembered something. “So that time at my party when I went upstairs and found my room trashed?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. That computer software I gave you was contaminated with ghost stuff.”

“And you were the one who put the stuffed animals in my locker?” Dash glared until Danny gave a meek nod. “So that time you got the free sodas and scored the touchdown, you used your powers to do that right?”

“What? He scored a touchdown? That little brat,” Danny grumbled, and Dash stared at him in confusion. “Oh, that time, it wasn’t me. The ghost of Sidney Poindexter took over my body and kicked out my soul. I got stuck in his world. I thought I was going to be bullied there for all eternity until I convinced Tucker and Sam that I was the real Danny Fenton. They helped get Poindexter back through the mirror, and I was able to trick him into switching bodies again.”

“So you were fighting ghosts all throughout high school?” Dash asked, looking impressed at the idea of Danny fighting off a bunch of ghosts.

Danny nodded with a little blush as his chest swelled a little at the expression on Dash’s face. They continued talking as they finished off the sandwiches and bottle of grape juice. If they hadn’t been underage, Dash would have stolen a bottle of wine from his parents. When it became late, the two men packed up their things and threw it into the basket. Then they walked back to the car. Danny leaned on the jock as Dash wrapped an arm around his waist.

Once they reached Fenton Works, Dash walked Danny to the door. They stood there for a while staring at each other. Neither of them wanted the date to end yet, but Danny’s parents had set his curfew as midnight and not a minute later.

“I’ll, um, talk to my parents about going with you,” Danny said, breaking the silence.

“Let me know their answer soon because I’m leaving in three days,” Dash stated. He stepped closer to Danny, and reaching out a hand, he cupped the man’s face.

“As much as I hate to break the two of you up,” Jazz said as she opened the door. Dash and Danny jumped away from each other and turned to stare at her. Jazz leaned against the door frame with her arms folded over her chest. “If Danny doesn’t get in the house in the next minute, our parents are going to ground him for a week. And all he’s going to do the whole time is fill out applications for jobs. So unless you want to not see your boyfriend for the next week, I suggest you skip the good night kiss so Danny can get into the house before he’s late for his curfew.”

“All right. Call me tomorrow,” Dash said, waving as he walked back to his car.

“Jazz,” Danny complained as he followed her into the house. “That would have been our first kiss! Why do people keep interrupting us?”

“You two haven’t even kissed yet?” Jazz asked in amazement. She had thought the two would have at least done that much so far, even if this was their first date.

“Did you think our relationship is purely a physical thing?” Danny asked a bit defensively.

“I always kind of thought Dash was the type of guy to rush into the physical aspect of a relationship.”

“Well, we haven’t kissed yet. We almost did the night we came back from college, but then Pain and Palsy interrupted us, and I had to fight them.” Danny felt a little miserable at that memory.

“I think it’s better if you take a relationship slowly and not rush into things,” Jazz stated as she patted Danny on the back. _I’m still shocked that Dash likes him, but I’m glad he cares for Danny so much_ , Jazz thought with a small smile while walking upstairs with her brother.


	19. Chapter 18

Danny yawned as he watched the passing scenery through the car window. It hadn’t changed that much for the past hour, and he was gradually growing bored with it. He was excited to be on a road trip with Dash, but the jock refused to tell him where they were going or why they were going there. Every time Danny tried to turn on the radio, Dash would slap his hand away. Dash said the music was too distracting so he left it off whenever he went on long drives outside their hometown. The silence had dragged on for too long, and the dull hum of the engine was lulling him back to sleep.

“So,” Danny said, finally breaking the silence, as he glanced toward Dash. “Your parents are already there?” The only response from the jock was a sharp nod. “I don’t think I’ve met your parents before.”

“I’d like to keep it that way,” Dash admitted in a murmur. “But I need someone there to distract me from this boring family thing.” Dash smirked at the other man, who blushed lightly as he dropped his gaze to stare at his hands.

“What exactly is this family thing anyway?”

“You ask too many questions.” Dash sighed, turning back to the road before them.

“I wouldn’t have to ask so many questions if you would just tell me what this whole trip is about.”

“But that would ruin the surprise,” Dash said, grinning to himself. The surprise actually had nothing to do with them, but Dash found it amusing to keep the other man guessing. “Just relax and enjoy the ride.”

“But the silence is killing me,” Danny complained. “At least let me turn on the radio.”

“We’re almost there. It’s only about another half hour.”

Danny sighed as he slid down in his seat. He lifted his feet to rest on the dashboard, causing his knees to dig into his chest. Leaning his head back against the leather seat, he turned his gaze back to staring out the window. After another long period of silence, Danny saw a sign that read, “Welcome to Wisconsin.” His eyes grew wide as he sat up straight again.

“W-w-w-why are we going to Wisconsin?” Danny stuttered, turning his shocked gaze on Dash.

“Because that’s where my cousin lives,” Dash answered, not bothering to look at the other man.

Danny frowned as his brow creased with worry. The last time he came to Wisconsin, it was the first time he encountered Vlad. Now Dash was dragging him back there. Danny groaned, slamming his head on the dashboard. This action caused Dash to take his eyes off the road again.

“Okay,” Dash started and sighed. “I probably should have at least told you where this thing was taking place. But really, what are the chances that you’ll run into that old geezer dude while we’re in Wisconsin?”

“I’ll have to go with very likely,” Danny muttered and threw himself back against the seat. He rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm as possible meetings and fights with Vlad played out in his mind. The sign upon entering the new state had effectively killed all the excitement Danny felt about this trip with Dash.

“Come on, Danny. Cheer up,” Dash urged. “You’re not going to run into that guy. You’re going to be stuck hanging out with me and my boring family.”

“Boring? Well, there’s an encouraging thought,” Danny grumbled.

“Compared to your family?” Dash snorted, and Danny turned to him with a “what’s that supposed to mean?” look on his face. “Your parents hunt ghosts. You can’t tell me that isn’t interesting.”

“You’re not going to tell your family about my parents, are you?” Danny stared hopefully at Dash.

“I won’t tell them things you would rather keep secret. And I’m definitely not telling them about you being half ghost.”

Danny mumbled out a “thanks” as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. By now, they had entered a city, but he didn’t care about the tall buildings passing by as Dash searched for the hotel where his family booked rooms for them. The jock pulled the car into the back parking lot of the tall building and found a spot at the far end of the lot. After they climbed out of the car, Danny stretched, relieved to be able to stand again. Dash took the opportunity to observe how Danny’s shirt rose slightly to reveal a small sliver of pale skin before he opened the trunk and thrust a suitcase into the man’s arms. He grabbed Danny’s arm when the man started to walk toward the hotel.

“My parents don’t know anything about me being gay,” Dash stated, gripping Danny’s arm hard as though to warn the other man that Dash would cause serious bodily harm if Danny mentioned anything about it.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to go up to your parents and say ‘Hey, I’m Danny Fenton, and I’m currently dating your son.’” Danny rolled his eyes. “For the whole of this trip, I will just be your good friend, not your boyfriend.”

Dash slammed the trunk closed and picked up his suitcase. “We will have our own room,” he said with a smirk as he passed Danny. “So you won’t have to act the whole time.” Danny shook his head as he followed the jock into the building.

The hotel was huge. Danny couldn’t think of the proper word to describe the building. On the outside, he could tell how tall it was, but once inside the building, it seemed a lot larger than the outside led him to believe. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and Danny almost believed those were real diamonds dangling off them. The floors were marble with a red carpet leading the way from the doorway to the front desk. The walls were lined with beautifully decorative pots filled with flowers, giving the whole hotel a pleasant aroma. All in all, the hotel looked like it cost some insane amount of money and about a year long waiting list to rent a room. Danny turned to Dash with large eyes.

“I didn’t think your family was filthy rich,” Danny whispered.

“Not my parents,” Dash said with a small shake of his head. “This whole thing is paid for by my cousin’s fiancée’s family. Apparently, her mother’s a famous actress and her father’s a movie director.”

“What is she? A script writer? A singer?”

“Actually, I’m not sure what she does.”

Once they had their room keys, the two men headed to the elevators. They reached the room and dumped their suitcases in the closet. Danny immediately flopped onto the king-sized bed, sighing at its comfort, much better than his bed at home.

“We made it in time for the dinner tonight,” Dash announced. He grabbed Danny’s arms and pulled the man up so that he was sitting. “If you need to go to the bathroom or want to change, do it now. We’re going to dinner in about ten minutes.”

Danny jumped off the bed, running into the bathroom to relieve himself since the last rest stop they went to was over two hours ago. After washing up, Danny and Dash left their room and headed down to the five-star restaurant located inside the hotel. When they reached the reserved table for the Baxter family, Dash’s mother drew him into a hug while his father only stood behind them watching. Then they turned to Danny and frowned. They had expected Dash to bring his girlfriend along, not some scrawny little man.

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter,” Danny said and smiled nervously at the couple. “I’m Daniel Fenton. I’m a classmate of Dash.”

“Fenton,” Mr. Baxter mumbled, turning to his son. “Isn’t that the name of the boy you were always bullying in high school?”

“Dad,” Dash groaned. “Fenton’s my friend.” He grabbed Danny’s arm and pulled him to a spot at the table where there were two seats free. The spot happened to be across from his parents seats. “Where are Josh and his lucky fiancée Julia?” Dash questioned as he looked over the menu.

“They’ll arrive a little later. You know, must be fashionably late,” his mother said pleasantly, rearranging the napkin in her lap.

“So, Fenton, you look a bit scrawny to be a football player. What sport do you play?” Dash’s father asked, eying Danny critically.

“I don’t play sports,” Danny answered. He twisted his napkin in his hands beneath the table, worried about the older man’s reaction.

“I see.” Mr. Baxter nodded, his expression growing more disapproving. “But you go to a good college, correct?”

“Actually, I’m going to be taking a few courses at a community college while working.”

“So in other words, you weren’t smart enough to get into a good college.” Dash’s father gave a smug smirk as he sipped from his wine glass. Danny frowned while Dash’s mouth set in a thin angry line.

“He attended Casper University this past year,” Dash stated wrathfully.

“So why isn’t he attending it again next year?” His father turned his smug look to his son, and Danny could tell the expression was only making Dash even angrier.

“I was kicked out for fighting,” Danny answered without hesitation.

“Kicked out?” Mr. Baxter's smirk grew even wider, delight shining in his eyes. Danny’s brow creased in confusion. What was going on between Dash and his father? “How can you be friends with such a delinquent?” he asked his son. “I think it would be best if you accepted the scholarship from that university in California and stopped hanging around such garbage.”

“Don’t call my friends garbage,” Dash growled under his breath so the other occupants of the restaurant wouldn’t overhear them. “And I’m not going to let you control my life. I’m attending Casper University, and that’s final.”

“Honey, your father is only trying-”

“You won’t get anywhere in life if you continue attending that school and chasing this frivolous dream you have,” his father argued.

“It’s not a frivolous dream! I have real talent as a cook, and I’m not going to give up on that dream just because you want me to continue playing football.” Dash slammed his fist onto the table, making the shorter man jumped. Danny only watched in shock at the exchange between Dash and his father. He never realized how far off his idea of Dash’s family life was until now. He always thought Dash had a perfect little family.

Sudden applause stopped any further argument between the two Baxter men. Danny breathed a mental sigh at that. He didn’t want to witness anymore fighting between Dash and his father.

They looked over as the bride and groom entered and approached the table. Danny could see the family resemblance between Dash and his cousin Josh. They were both blond with dark blue eyes, and Josh even had a similar muscular build as Dash.

_He must have played football as well_ , Danny thought to himself. His fiancée was a petite woman, who vaguely reminded Danny of Paulina with her tanned skin and long dark hair. She was a rather attractive woman, and the pair together made a rather charming couple.

For the rest of dinner, Mr. Baxter attempted to make polite conversation with them since he didn’t want to cause a scene in front of the rest of the family gathered at the table. Danny decided he didn’t much like Mr. Baxter and the way he always wore that smug smirk when looking at him or Dash. However, Mrs. Baxter was a pleasant woman to speak with, and Danny knew he was going to like her.

When dinner was nearly over, Josh and Julia made their way from the head of the table to where the Baxter family sat. Dash wiped his mouth with his napkin as he stood.

“How’s my favorite little cousin?” Josh asked, pulling Dash into a fierce hug. Danny swore he heard the younger of the two cousins release a grunt from the action.

“I’m good,” Dash answered when Josh finally let him have room to breathe again. “I’d like you to meet my good friend Daniel Fenton.” He grinned, resting a hand on Danny’s head. Danny shook hands with Dash’s cousin, wincing at the other’s firm grip. Apparently, Josh never thought to hold back on his strength. Danny gave a weak smirk, secretly shaking out his sore hand behind his back.

“We should hang out together sometime before the wedding,” Josh suggested. “But Julia and I have to go right now. We have to meet with her parents and discuss some things about the wedding.” After saying their farewells, the bride and groom left. Dash turned back to his parents, and the frown crossed his face yet again.

“I’ll see you both at tomorrow’s rehearsal,” Dash said neutrally before turning around and leaving the restaurant. Danny said a quick goodbye and chased after the jock. He missed the elevator and had to wait for the next one. When he entered their hotel room, Dash lay on the bed with one arm tucked behind his head while the other held the remote as he flipped through the channels.

“Dash,” Danny spoke softly as he sat on the edge of the bed beside Dash. He tried to gauge how upset the conversation with Mr. Baxter had made his boyfriend. But Dash’s face showed no emotion of how the argument affected him.

Dash grabbed Danny’s arm and pulled the man forward, gaining a yelp from Danny at the sudden action. The first response to run through his mind was to push away, but then he told his brain to shut up as he enjoyed his first kiss with Dash. It was a bit sloppy; their lips mashed together awkwardly. Dash slipped his fingers through the raven locks, holding Danny’s head closer. He almost laughed at how tense and uncertain the other man was. Danny obviously wasn’t that experienced with kissing, but Dash already knew that would be the case. When he finally allowed the other man to pull away, Danny’s face was scarlet, but he wore a bright smile on his face.

_That certainly got him to forget about asking about my family’s problem_ , Dash noted with a smirk. He filed that little tidbit into the back of his mind for later reference. Then he pulled Danny down to lay beside him on the bed. Danny curled up against him and rested his head upon Dash’s chest. Dash finally gave up channel surfing and left it on some lame movie filmed in black and white, not really caring what it was. The couple settled in for a long night with nothing more to do than enjoy each other’s company while paying little attention to the movie.


	20. Chapter 19

Danny groaned as he rolled onto his back. He had never slept so well in his life, and he didn’t want to wake up yet. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the bed or Dash or the combination of the two that gave him such a peaceful rest. His eyes shot open as he sat up quickly and smacked his forehead with the heel of his palm. He only now realized Dash’s sudden kiss had caused him to completely forget about asking what happened between Dash and Mr. Baxter.

After he looked around, Danny noticed that Dash had already woken up and left their bed. Throwing the thick comforter off him, he leaped out of the hotel bed to search for his missing boyfriend. When he raced down the short hall leading to the door of the hotel room, Danny discovered Dash talking with his cousin. Danny tried to stop before colliding with them. Even though his feet were firmly planted on the ground, his upper body kept its forward momentum thus causing Danny to run head first into Josh’s board, muscular torso.

Before he could pull away and apologize, Josh drew Danny into a bone-crushing hug. Dash smacked his forehead after he heard Danny let out a small shout of pain. When the older cousin finally released the poor man, Danny stumbled light-headedly and slammed his back into the wall. His mouth gaped open as he gulped in air, forcing his lungs to expand back to their original size.

“You’re going to break him if you hug him with that vice grip of yours,” Dash muttered irritably as he glared at his cousin, who only laughed.

“I never would have pictured you as the type to fall for a scrawny little thing.” Josh paused to shake his head. “Then again, I never imagined you would be into other guys. But I can’t complain about this kid.” Josh reached over with his large hand and ruffled Danny’s hair. “He’s quite a looker for someone with such a boney body.” He took Danny’s hands and started waving them about. Despite how much he tried, Danny couldn’t break Josh’s hold on him. “Look at him. He’s got no muscle or fat on him. He’s just skin and bones.”

“I do have some muscles,” Danny complained. But compared to the blond cousins, that statement seemed questionable.

“What do you want, Josh?” Dash demanded as he ripped his cousin’s hands from his boyfriend’s arms.

“The rehearsal’s this afternoon, so let’s have dinner tonight.” Josh grinned. He ignored Dash’s glare threatening excruciating pain if Josh told anyone about his relationship with Danny. “I’m surprised you were willing to bring him here though. If your father discovered your relationship,” Josh gave a low whistle while shaking his head.

“Don’t you dare tell him,” Dash growled, his right hand closing into a tight fist.

“Don’t try to threaten me. I’m ten times stronger than you, so don’t think you can lay even one finger on me. I’m not going to tell your asshole of a father anything. I just wish you could be honest with me.” Josh sighed, his facial features softening, as his shoulders sagged. “You’re the only one in our family that I can actually tolerate having a conversation with lasting longer than five minutes. If you can’t be honest with me and trust me, then I have no one in this family that I can trust.”

“Sorry. You know how our family is. If my dad discovers Fenton and I are a couple, he’ll do everything in his power to split us apart.”

“I’m not stupid, Dash. Your secrets are safe with me,” he assured his younger cousin.

“Uh, am I allowed to know what’s up with your family?” Danny questioned, feeling rather left out of the conversation.

“No, you’re not.” Dash smirked before turning back to his cousin. “Sorry we can’t have dinner tonight.” He leaned closer to whisper to the older man. “I would rather have some alone time with Fenton.”

“Oh,” Josh said as he grinned at the two. “I understand. I’ll see you at the rehearsal.” Josh waved to the couple and then left the hotel room.

“Dash, this isn’t fair,” Danny complained as he folded his arms across his chest. “I told you my secret. Why can’t I know what’s going on with your family?”

“It’s nothing. All you need to know is that my father is an asshole.” Dash walked past the shorter man as he headed for the closet where they had stored their suit cases. “If we dress and eat quickly, we can do a little sightseeing before the rehearsal.”

“If it’s nothing, why won’t you talk to me about it?” Danny questioned, his brow creasing with worry. He leaned against the wall beside the closet.

“Fine. We’ll talk about it. Just not right now.” Dash sighed and threw some clothes for himself onto their bed. He looked back to Danny, who now wore an expression questioning when they would talk about it that Dash easily read. “We’ll talk about it later. Tonight. Maybe.”

“Promise?” Danny’s brow lifted with hope.

“Sure,” Dash answered as he rolled his eyes.

And so the other man wouldn’t make any more complaints, Dash leaned over and gently pressed his lips to Danny’s lips. This time Danny seemed less uncertain, but he still tensed as soon as their lips met.

“Relax. Don’t tense up so much,” Dash murmured into the kiss. When Danny didn’t relax, Dash pulled away. “Why do you keep tensing up when I kiss you?”

“I don’t know,” Danny answered and frowned at the jock. “I guess I’m just nervous because this is the first time I’ve ever been in a real relationship with someone. I mean, what if you think I’m a bad kisser compared to everyone else you’ve kissed?”

“Fenton, I can count the number of people I’ve kissed on one hand,” Dash stated, holding up four fingers. “And trust me, you aren’t a bad kisser. But since you brought this up, how many people have you kissed before?”

“Um, three,” Danny answered, blushing softly.

“See? I’ve only kissed one person more than you so we have about the same amount of experience in this. You don’t need to worry about being a bad kisser. If I thought you were horrible at kissing, I would have told you last night.”

“Gee, tha-” But Dash cut him off with another kiss. Danny gave in and relaxed this time. His arms wrapped around Dash’s neck.

“We’re not going to have a lot of time for sightseeing,” Dash mumbled against Danny’s lips.

“I wasn’t that interested in sightseeing anyway,” Danny replied with a small roll of his shoulders. He felt Dash’s lips curve into a smile right before his boyfriend dragged him toward the bed.

 

“You know, it’s strange that my dad wasn’t at the rehearsal,” Dash mumbled as he stared out the window of their hotel room.

Danny looked up from his meal and frowned at his boyfriend. “You promised you would tell me what’s going on between you and your father,” he said, reminding the other man.

Dash turned his gaze back to the other man and then sighed. “It’s not that big of a deal, but you’re obviously not going to drop the subject. My dad wants me to continue playing football. He thinks that’s where my future lies and my dreams of being a chef are completely wasteful.”

“But you’re a really good cook!” Danny interrupted. “Maybe if-”

“He doesn’t care if I’m a good cook or not. He thinks it’s a stupid dream. All he cares about is making me play football. I may have been the star of our school’s football team, but that was high school level. I’ve seen college guys from all kinds of colleges and universities when I was looking at where I wanted to go. Those guys were a million times better than I am. I can’t compete against them, and I don’t want to try. I never really wanted to play football for my entire life. My dad’s just trying to control me by forcing me to play football. I guess it’s like when parents try to live out their dreams through their children. But I can’t deal with that anymore. I had to put up with it all through senior year of high school. I don’t want to be forced to do something that I don’t want to do anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” Danny said, trying to think of how he should respond to this. He stared at Dash and noticed how upset this whole conversation had made the man. “Is that the only reason behind your argument with your father?”

“Not entirely,” Dash murmured as he pushed the remainders of his meal around the plate with his fork. “Back in eighth grade, one of my friends on the football team came over to my house during the Christmas holiday. We had a little playful wrestle over the last mini candy cane. He got it and immediately ate it. My body kind of reacted before my brain even thought about what I was doing. I kissed him, trying to get the candy cane from him. Right when I did that, my dad walked into the room. He kicked the other boy out of our house and then started yelling at me about what I did. So I yelled back that maybe I was gay. At the time, I didn’t really understand what the word meant because no one around me had ever used it before.” Dash paused in his story to gauge Danny’s reaction. He turned his gaze away before continuing. “My dad got really angry at me for saying that and started beating me. He was careful not to break anything. It wouldn’t do him any good if he hurt me so badly that I couldn’t live out his dream of playing football.”

“But - but you said your parents didn’t beat you,” Danny stuttered.

“No, I said thanks for assuming things. I never said they hadn’t,” Dash corrected. “And it was only that one time. I learned shortly after that what ‘gay’ meant. So I started asking out lots of girls to make my dad think I wasn’t because I didn’t want to get beaten again. I really thought I was straight and that the kiss with that boy had only been because I wanted the candy cane. But sometime during our junior year, I started realizing that I really was attracted guys. But it wasn’t every guy, it was only you.” He looked back toward Danny to find him blushing at that confession. “Bringing you on this trip may not have been the smartest idea. If my dad thinks we’re together, he’ll do something to split us apart.”

“Yeah, I already heard you say that to Josh.” Danny nodded. He sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “You’re going to have to tell your father at some point.”

“No way,” Dash said as he shook his head. “I’m not telling him anything about me being gay. Now let’s drop this conversation and enjoy the rest of our dinner.” Danny gave in and didn’t pursue that topic any further. The rest of the night was filled with a much more pleasant conversation.


	21. Chapter 20

“What time do we need to be there?” Danny questioned from the bathroom. He had just stepped out of the shower, wearing only a towel as he dried his hair with another towel.

“We should leave in about an hour,” Dash answered. When he entered the bathroom, he grinned at the sight he found. The towel around Danny’s waist was slowly coming undone, little by little revealing the pale skin of Danny’s hips. “But staying here might be more enjoyable.”

“Dash,” Danny argued as he threw the towel that he used to dry his hair at Dash. “We can’t just skip your cousin’s wedding.” He marched past his boyfriend on his way out of the bathroom. His suit, even though he hated wearing the thing, lay on their bed. He started to remove his towel but stopped when he realized Dash stood right behind him.

“Like they would notice if we’re a little late,” Dash murmured before kissing the base of Danny’s neck. He slipped his arms around Danny’s waist and was rewarded with a small gasp from the man. His fingers curled around the towel, but Danny stopped him before he could remove it. “I’m going to see it sooner and later so you don’t need to hide it.”

“But if we’re late, your father might get suspicious. And you wouldn’t want that,” Danny reminded him. “He already seems to hate me.”

“Okay. That’s a good point.” Dash sighed as he pulled away. He sat on the bed, running a hand through his hair. “But I don’t get why you’re being so hesitant.”

“So you want to rush through our first time?” Danny frowned as he moved to stand before his boyfriend.

“I get why you don’t want to right now.” Dash glared at him. “But what about last night?”

“Did you miss the hour long puke fest I had in the bathroom? I don’t think they cooked the steak long enough.” If it hadn’t been for the illness plaguing his stomach late into the night, Danny would have happily complied with Dash’s advances. Danny reached out a hand to comb through the golden locks, causing Dash to lift his head. He almost laughed at the grumpy expression on the jock’s face. “Perhaps tonight,” Danny suggested, biting back a grin.

Dash took hold of his boyfriend’s hips and pulled him into his lap. Before Danny could push away, Dash grabbed his hands, keeping them trapped behind Danny’s back. He smirked at Danny before leaning up to whisper in his ear. “Is that a promise?”

“I suppose,” Danny answered warily. Dash moved to kiss his boyfriend, but Danny jerked his head away. “Unless, of course, I get food poisoning again. After all, puking on you would make sex lose its appeal.”

“Okay.” Dash rolled his eyes. “If something serious comes up, we won’t have sex. But if nothing comes up, you better not try to back out of it.”

“Da-”

Dash crushed his lips to Danny’s, effectively silencing his boyfriend. He shifted Danny’s hands so that he held them both in one of his own. He brushed his fingers over Danny’s cheek and then traced down his boyfriend’s jaw line. His hand fell to rest on the boy’s shoulder briefly before he wrapped it around Danny’s neck. Dash drew Danny’s closer as he deepened the kiss, forcing the other man’s soft lips to part so that he could slip his tongue into his mouth. Danny squirmed in Dash’s lap when he felt the tongue rub against his own. His stomach twisted in knots at the new sensation. He let Dash coax his tongue into action until the memory that they needed to get ready for the wedding popped into his mind. He broke the kiss and bit the inside of his cheek as he glared at his boyfriend.

“Nice try distracting me,” Danny stated flatly.

“I just wanted one kiss before I went to take my shower.” Dash grinned widely at his boyfriend. He lifted Danny off his lap and set him on the bed. A sigh escaped him as Dash headed for the bathroom. “I’m so looking forward to another wonderful conversation with my father,” Dash called sarcastically.

Danny only gave a roll of his eyes at Dash’s statement. He sat on the bed for a moment, glaring at his suit unhappily. Finally, he stood up, dropping the towel, and started to get dressed. By the time Dash walked out of the shower, Danny had finished putting on the suit, except he had trouble with the tie. He stood in front of the mirror, cursing the stupid thing, as he tried to figure out how to tie it correctly. Dash smirked while he tried desperately not to laugh at his boyfriend’s efforts.

“Would you like some help with that?” Dash questioned, masking his amusement.

“This thing hates me,” Danny complained, throwing his arms into the air. Dash chuckled as he walked over to his boyfriend. He took the tie and made quick work of tying it properly. Danny’s eyes narrowed, his lower lip protruding in a pout. “Show off.”

“No, I’m just better than you,” Dash said with a wide grin.

Danny punched him in the shoulder. He knew Dash was only teasing him, but it still hurt to know that Dash was much better at things than he. Dash let the towel around his waist fall to the ground as he started to dress in his suit for the wedding. Danny flopped onto the bed, dropping his head into his hands. He didn’t need any dirty thoughts entering his mind from staring at a naked Dash.

“Ready to go?” Dash questioned as he straightened his tie.

Danny peeked from behind his hands and released a groan. “You even look great in a suit while I look like a dork.”

“You don’t look a dork.” Dash grabbed Danny’s hands and pulled the man off the bed. “You’re the one who said we had to go to the wedding so you can’t back out on me now just because you hate wearing a suit.”

Danny stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend but quickly pulled it back in when Dash tried to snatch it. The couple left their hotel room and drove to the church where the wedding was being held. Dash led the way down the side aisle of the church until they reached the row where his parents sat. Dash slid in first to avoid having Danny sit beside his father.

They sat in silence for nearly half an hour before the man at the organ started playing the traditional wedding music. Danny turned around in the pew to see the precession of the flower girl and bride’s maids. Then the bride walked down the center aisle, arm linked with her father’s arm and a bouquet in the other hand.

Julia looked absolutely beautiful. Part of her dark hair had been pulled into a bun while the rest flowed down her backside reaching to the small of her back. A few strands of her remained loose from the bun, hanging to frame her face. Her dress was gorgeous in its simplicity. It was strapless, revealing a little cleavage, but not enough to make it look indecent. The dress showed off her wonderful curves. In the front, it just barely reached the ground while in the back it had a small train dragging upon the carpeted aisle.

Once they reached the altar where the priest and groom stood, Julia’s father released her arm and took his seat beside his wife. The ceremony was lovely and short. The couple shared a sweet, tender kiss, and Danny could almost feel the swell of emotion that bubbled through the church as relatives shed tears of joy at the happy occasion. After the bride and groom, bride’s maids, groom’s men, and others had walked back down the aisle out of the church, everyone else started filing out of the church to head for the reception.

As soon as they walked through the door to the reception hall, Mrs. Baxter pulled her son away to meet with some of his relatives that he hadn’t seen for a few years. Danny stood awkwardly by the bar within the hall as he sipped from his glass of water. He watched as Dash got dragged from one relative to the next with a false smile upon his face. After about fifteen minutes, Josh made his way through the crowd toward Danny.

“Hey, Fenton!” Josh clapped Danny on the back, making the man stumble.

“Hey, Josh.” Danny smiled at the older man. “That was a really nice wedding. Julia looked really beautiful in her gown.”

“Thanks, man!” Josh slung his arm around Danny’s shoulders and brought the man’s head closer to whisper in his ear. “I know this is none of my business and I’m not particularly interested in hearing the details, but I’m a bit curious. Have you done it with Dash yet?”

Danny choked on the water he just sipped. Seeing this, Josh slapped the man on his back, which only made the choking worse. Danny started a coughing fit, his face growing red, though it was hard to tell whether that was because he had been choking or because he was incredibly embarrassed by Josh’s question.

“Sorry about that, man. I didn’t think you would react that way. I mean, it’s almost like you’ve never actually had sex with anyone.” Josh laughed until he noticed that Danny’s face became another shade darker. “Serious? You’ve never had sex? You’re a virgin?”

“It’s not like I had many opportunities to have sex,” Danny said bitterly.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have laugh. Honestly, I think Dash is still a virgin too,” Josh said, lowering his voice so that Danny had to strain to hear him.

“Really? You think so?” Danny tried to find his boyfriend but couldn’t track down the man.

“Hello, Fenton.” Danny jumped and looked over to find Mr. Baxter smiling at him.

“Hi, Mr. Baxter,” Danny said awkwardly. He glanced to Josh, but the older man shrugged, uncertain of Mr. Baxter's intentions.

“May I have a word with you?” Mr. Baxter questioned before taking a sip from his champagne glass.

“Uh, yeah, sure, I guess,” Danny stuttered.

Mr. Baxter’s smile widened. He clapped a hand on Danny’s back and guided him through the crowd. Josh watched them with an increasing frown on his face. He didn’t like the idea of Danny being alone with Mr. Baxter. His eyes scanned the crowd. When he caught sight of his cousin, he headed toward Dash.

“Um, what did you want to talk about?” Danny asked.

Nervousness bubbled through Danny’s body. He had a really bad feeling about this. And it only increased when Mr. Baxter remained silent and dragged him out of the reception hall. Once they were outside in the alley behind the reception hall, Mr. Baxter released his hold on Danny, shoving the man forward. Danny stumbled and almost fell to the ground. Once he regained his balance, Danny turned back to Mr. Baxter with a glare on his face.

“What’s going on? Why did you bring me out here to talk?” Danny demanded.

Mr. Baxter’s only response was a nod to something over Danny’s shoulder. Before he could look, a hand covered his mouth and nose while the person’s second arm wrapped around his waist, keeping his back flush against the person’s body. Danny clawed at the hand over his mouth. Panic rose in him because he couldn’t breathe. His heart pounded with fear because he couldn’t use his powers to escape.

Mr. Baxter’s laughter rang loudly in his ears. Danny’s arms grew heavy and fell to his sides as his mind started to fade into unconsciousness. The person behind him released him once he gave up his struggle. As his body fell toward the ground, Danny felt like he was having one of those out of body experiences. He watched in slow motion as his body descended to the ground and landed with a thunderous thud that echoed within his mind. He tried desperately to cling to consciousness, to hear what the men said to each other, but he was already too far gone. His vision turned black, and he barely registered the fact that someone lifted him off the ground. Danny dreaded what would happen after he regained consciousness.


	22. Chapter 21

“Tucker,” Paulina said, pausing in the ring of light provided by the park’s lamp. They started seeing each other a lot since the night Danny ditched them at the expensive restaurant. Paulina found she was falling more and more in love with this man as she spent more time with him. It scared her because she had never felt this strongly about another person.

“What is it, Paulina?” Tucker turned to her with a worried expression on his face. “Are you tired? Did you want to sit for a while? Are those high heels hurting your feet?”

“No, I-” Paulina fumbled for what she wanted to say to him. _He’s so nice to care about how I’m feeling. Other guys would just ignore whether I was tired or not_ , Paulina thought, letting a small smile slip onto her face. Taking the man’s hand, she pulled Tucker closer. Paulina leaned in to kiss him but retreated before their lips met, biting the inside of her cheek. She kissed many guys before, so why could she not kiss Tucker as easily? _Because you actually love Tucker, and you don’t want him to think you’re easy because you’re rushing things_ , her brain explained.

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Tucker questioned. “Your face is red.”

“I’m okay. It’s just - I-” Paulina stuttered and mentally kicked herself for it. She dropped her gaze to their hands and laced their fingers together. “I just - I-”

“You’re beginning to sound like a broken record,” Tucker stated, hoping to prod the woman into telling him what was wrong.

“I want to know how you feel about me,” Paulina said in a rush of words. She glanced up to find Tucker still trying to sort out what she said in his mind. Realization dawned on his face, and a blush rose to his cheeks.

“Well, I - I obviously like you,” Tucker said, stumbling over his words. He was flustered by the sudden desire to know what he felt. Paulina noticed his hand start to get sweaty, but she didn’t pull away. After a moment, Tucker sighed. “I guess keeping silent would be stupid,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his head in nervousness. “I know we started off as tutor and tutee, and we said we would only be friends. But I want to be more than friends. I know the crush I had on you in high school was superficial. Every guy had a crush on you. But I’ve spent this last year getting to know the real you. You’re not just a pretty face. You’re smart and funny, and you throw a mean right hook in your sleep. In high school, you captured my heart with your beauty. But now, you’ve captured my heart with everything that you are.”

Near tears at his words, Paulina threw her arms around Tucker’s neck. The guys she dated before would only say things like “you’re pretty” and “you have the most beautiful eyes.” No one called her smart. No one called her funny. To them she was pretty, and that was the only category they could place her in. Paulina knew she hadn’t been that nice to Tucker and his friends during high school. Yet Tucker had overlooked her previous mean behavior to see her true personality. This time, when she leaned in toward him, there was no hesitation. Their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss, and Tucker held her closer.

 

“Dash, we have a problem,” Josh said, pulling his cousin away from their other relatives. “Your dad just took your lover out of here.” He whispered the last part so no one else would find out about Dash’s relationship with Fenton.

“What? Where did they go?” Dash demanded, his hands fisting the material of Josh’s tuxedo, as he slammed his cousin into the wall. “Why didn’t you stop him?”

“I don’t know where they went,” Josh answered and shoved his cousin back. He straightened his tuxedo while glancing around to see how much attention they received. “I didn’t stop him because I didn’t want your dad to be even more suspicious, though I think he already has an idea about your relationship. Why else would he want to talk to Fenton alone?”

“Shit! If he does anything to Danny,” Dash growled lowly. His hands balled into fists, and his nails dug into his skin.

Turning away from his cousin, Dash searched the reception hall for his father. A few minutes later, the older Baxter entered the hall, holding a champagne glass in his hand and wearing a smug smile. Dash stomped his way over his father with Josh following closely behind him.

“What did you do with Danny?” Dash questioned, forcing back the desire to punch his father.

“Don’t make a scene, Son,” Mr. Baxter said. Placing the glass to his lips, he took a long sip of champagne as he walked farther into the reception hall.

“Father!” Dash grabbed the older man’s arm.

“Listen to me, _boy_.” Mr. Baxter turned to his son and threw him hard into the wall. “I’m not going to let my son be influenced by some little fag. You’re accepting that scholarship and going to that university in California next year.”

“I already told you I’m not going to continue playing football so stop trying to control my life,” Dash shouted, gaining the attention of the other guests. Josh smiled weakly at them, feeling slightly embarrassed. “Now tell me what you did with Danny!”

“All I did was take out the trash,” Mr. Baxter stated with a shrug. The smug smirk appeared on his face again when he saw the anger flashing in his son’s eyes. “I don’t know what makes this Fenton kid so interesting, but that's no matter anymore. He'll be out of everyone's way now.”

“What?” Dash demanded outraged by the implications of that statement.

"Once he's gone, he can't influence you with his gayness anymore," Mr. Baxter said, disgust twisting his face as he glanced his son over like he could spot it like a disease on him.

Dash snarled at his father. If Josh hadn't held him back, he would have tackled his father to the ground. "I'm the one who influenced him. I suggested the idea of homosexuality to him. I'm gay, and I don't care you can't accept that."

His father sputtered, his face turning red with rage. At that point, Josh decided it was best to drag Dash away from his father. They were making quite the scene as everyone turned to stare at them when Dash started yelling. He never wanted something like this to happen on his wedding day, and he would have a lot of apologizing to do to his now wife. But even he could see what was happening was more important than the wedding. Mr. Baxter might have just put Danny's life in danger, and if they didn't do something quick, they might be too late.

"Fighting with your father now won't help you save Fenton," Josh pointed out as Dash growled angrily and struggled against his hold. "We need to figure out where Fenton was taken before something bad happens to him."

With his ghost powers, Danny could get out of any trouble. Dash wanted to think that, but he knew Danny wouldn't carelessly use his powers if it meant exposing himself. If Danny wasn't cautious, he could have gotten away from Brad or gotten back at those jocks without getting as beat up as he did.

A different thought occurred to him, and Dash gritted his teeth. He remembered how his father skipped the rehearsal for what he said was a business lunch. The only business associate Dash could think of that his father had in Wisconsin was Vlad Masters. "He wouldn't," he growled, his eyes narrowing at his father as the man spoke with their relatives.

"Wouldn't what?" Josh asked, loosening his hold on Dash once he pulled his cousin out of the reception hall.

"I think he handed Danny over to Vlad Masters." The thought terrified Dash after remembering everything that Danny told him about the man. He was scared of what Vlad would do to Danny once he had him.

"I know where he lives," Josh said but was confused. "I can take you there. But why would Vlad Masters want Fenton?"

Dash shook his head as he headed for the car. "This is your wedding reception. You have to stay, Josh."

"They won't miss me that much." Josh grinned as he followed his cousin. "Besides this guy is important to you, so I want to help in any way I can because you're important to _me_."

“Thanks,” Dash mumbled with a tiny smile tugging at his lips. They climbed into Dash’s car and pulled out of the parking lot at the reception hall. A block later they were stuck in a massive traffic jam.

“Of all the lousy times for this to happen,” Josh muttered, glaring at the cars ahead of them. “At this rate, we might as well get out and run to Vlad’s place.”

Dash frowned, grinding his teeth in silent rage and annoyance. “If we can get there faster that way, it would probably be the better choice.” When he managed to park along the street, Dash jumped out of the car. Josh followed suit and took off sprinting to Vlad’s castle.

 

Danny's eyes cracked open, and he snapped them shut again when bright light invaded his vision. Trying again, he slowly opened his eyes, but everything looked blurry. He shook his head to clear his vision, only causing the faint throb in his head to grow worse. He tried to lift his hand to massage his temples back found he couldn't move them. A frown settled on his face when he tested his arms again and realized they were bound to the back of the chair.

 _What happened?_ Danny wondered, trying to piece together his current situation. He remembered going outside to talk with Mr. Baxter then someone grabbed him from behind and he lost consciousness. Mr. Baxter had someone take him? The question played in his mind, seeking some tidbit of information that might help him understand things. He knew Mr. Baxter hated him, and he had that sinking suspicion that Mr. Baxter figured it all out about him and Dash. Was Mr. Baxter trying to get rid of him? Dash did say that his father would do anything to split them up if he ever found out about them. Hiring some thugs to kidnap him didn't seem like too much of a stretch.

"Looks like he's awake again," someone said, and a hand fisted into his hair.

Danny winced as his hair was pulled, dragging his head upward. His vision was still blurry, and he could only vaguely make out the dark shape of the man before him. He could hear other voices and noises in the room, indicating he wasn't alone with the man holding up his head. His ghost sense didn't go off, so he knew his kidnappers were humans. He would have preferred ghosts. Against humans, he couldn't use his powers, not without risking exposure, and he didn't want people like them knowing about his secret. He yelled at the men, but it came out muffled and unintelligible. He was gagged as well as bound.

"Sounds like he's ready to play some more." The other men sounded excited at that announcement.

Danny struggled, but the rope was bound too tightly and each movement caused the rope to rub painfully over his flesh. He had his suspicions about what the man meant when he said "play," and none of them painted a pretty image in his mind. The hand released his hair, and in the next second, a fist slammed into his face. The force knocked the chair back, and Danny's head met harshly with the cement flooring. Spots bloomed in his blurry vision as at least four men swam before him. Hot, sticky liquid oozed down his face. Either his nose broke or he had a busted lip, he guessed, but his brain was too jumbled with all the aches and pains he felt that he couldn't seem to pinpoint where exactly he hurt. He screamed as something hard, possibly made of metal, crashed down upon one shin. He definitely heard a crack from that blow, and as much as he hoped the leg of the chair broke, the intense, agonizing pain suggested it was his leg that made the crack.

 _I have to use them_ , Danny thought in a moment of clarity through the pain. He hated the idea of these men learning his secret, but if he didn't do something soon, he might suffer a worse fate than a broken nose and leg. Another muffled shout left him as one made kicked him in the side. He clamped his eyes shut as a foot stomped down on his chest and ground down until Danny feared his ribs would snap. After phasing a hand through the rope, Danny reached up and grabbed the foot crushing his chest. The man was so stunned that he yelped in surprise and stumbled away.

"You didn't tie him tight enough," he shouted at one of the other men.

"There's no way he should have been able to get free," the other argued defensively. "I tied that perfectly."

"Guys-" a third man started, trying to calm his comrades, but he was cut off as the sound of crashing followed. Danny jerked his head, trying to see what happened, but he was at the wrong angle to catch the action.

"Who the hell is that?" the first man shouted, and Danny could see him holding out a bat, pointing at something that Danny couldn't see. That man didn't last long before he was blown back by what looked like ecto foam. Danny tilted his head back and saw the man stuck to the far wall by the puffy green substance. Danny's heart stopped when he saw that. His situation was already bad. Why was a ghost hunter here? He only used his powers for one second!

The other men attacked, but the fight took place out of his range of sight. Danny was too scared to use his powers in the presence of a possible ghost hunter. He struggled, cursing the whole time, to untie the rope binding his other arm. The man really had done a good job at tying it.

After the noise quieted down, Danny lifted his gaze to find the suspected ghost hunter looming over him. He gulped as the man with his face hidden by a mask crouched down beside him. The ghost hunter knocked aside Danny's shaking hand then cut the ropes. Danny froze, unable to think or move, when the ghost hunter lifted him into his arms. The man was careful with Danny's leg, which still screamed painfully. Did the ghost hunter know what he was? He hadn't tried to suck Danny into a thermos yet, but that didn't mean he was oblivious to Danny's identity. If he used his ghost powers, that would only confirm his status as half ghost to the man, and Danny couldn't risk that. The ghost hunter never spoke as he carried Danny out of the seedy room where his kidnappers kept him.


	23. Chapter 22

He didn't know when it happened. The pain, the fear of being captured and not knowing what would happen next built up inside him as the ghost hunter flew through the sky to some unknown destination. Not wanting to be immediately sucked into a thermos or other ghost catching device, Danny was hesitant to use his powers, and he still clung to the hope that the hunter didn't know he was half ghost. He meant only to rest his eyes for a moment, to take the time to think of how to handle the situation. But when he next opened his eyes, Danny stared around at a clean white room.

The first thing he noticed was that he felt better, or at least his pain was numbed. He struggled to sit up, discovering he rested on a bed that reminded him of a hospital, but something in his gut told him this wasn't a hospital. His gaze fell upon his leg and saw the thick heavy cast upon it. The bat had definitely broken a bone in his shin. His mind scrambled to figure out was going on. The ghost hunter brought him to get medical help?

"You should take it easy."

Danny snapped his head up and glared at the man sitting by the door to the room. His body tensed as he growled, "Vlad!" Even in this condition, he was certain he could take Vlad down. Human injuries didn't always cross over to his ghostly body. He tried to go ghost in preparation to fight but nothing happened. Panic set in as his wide eyes stared at Vlad. "What did you do to me?"

Vlad shook his head. "Nothing." He sighed after seeing the disbelief on the young half ghost's face. "I built this room using spectral interference technology. You can't use your ghost power, and neither can I."

"What's the meaning of this?" Danny gritted his teeth. Vlad had the advantage now. Without his ghost powers and injured, Danny was at his mercy.

Vlad frowned at him and didn't answer right away. "I wanted to talk, but I knew you wouldn't listen to me if you could fight," he explained, carefully picking out his words.

"And why should I believe anything you say?" Danny glanced around the room, looking for some way to escape, but the only exit was the door next to Vlad. He didn't think he could make it out that door before Vlad stopped him. He was stuck.

"Because if I hadn't helped you, you would still be at the mercy of those men," Vlad pointed out with thinly veiled annoyance. "And from the shape you're in, I'd wager they were minutes away from actually trying to kill you."

Danny looked away. He was in bad shape. If not for whatever painkiller Vlad gave him, Danny would have been in a world of hurt right now. His hands curled around the stiff sheet on the bed. "Was this all part of your calculated plan?"

"Hardly, my boy," Vlad answered, bitterness and anger in his voice.

Danny glanced at him, trying to determine what that reaction meant when the door opened. The ghost hunter from before entered the room, and his identity still masked by his helmet. "So Pain and Palsy failed, and you sent this guy after me?" He seethed at Vlad, remembering the horrible tragedy of losing Pain and Palsy.

"No." Vlad grimaced, pained by the question for some reason. "I was trying to help them."

"Help them?" Danny shouted, and he would have launched right off the bed if the ghost hunter hadn't stepped in and held him down on the bed.

"He's telling the truth."

It was the first time the ghost hunter spoke, and the voice made Danny freeze. He lifted his gaze to stare at the black visor of the helmet. Then anger flashed in his eyes as he turned to glare at Vlad again. "You-"

But the ghost hunter moved to stand in Danny's line of vision to Vlad. He reached up and removed his helmet. "Fenton," Kwan mumbled, staring down at him with concerned aqua colored eyes. "Just listen to him."

"Kwan, he's manipulating you," Danny growled, angry that Dash's best friend was working under his archenemy.

"No, he's not." Kwan shook his head, but Danny hardly believed that claim. "I know everything about him. I know who he is, what he is, what he's done. There's no secret between us."

"I bet I can think of one," Danny growled, his eyes narrowing in Vlad's general direction.

"You'd be wrong on that one," Vlad said, and Danny could almost see his smirk through Kwan. "He knows all about the fact that I'm half ghost."

"And I know about his attempts to get your mother, kill your father," Kwan added. "Everything."

Danny's mouth worked for a moment as he stared at Kwan. "How?" He couldn't believe that Vlad would spill his secrets to some random person. "How do you even know each other?"

Kwan raked a hand through his hair, which was a little longer and messier than Danny remembered from last year. "Where to start?" he asked with a soft laugh. "I guess it started because I was attending the University of Wisconsin. It's pretty much the only university that has a department dedicated to paranormal studies. Even if it's a really tiny department."

"When my schedule allows it, I give talks for the class," Vlad added as he stood and joined Kwan at the side of the bed. "I was pleasantly surprised by Mr. Long's knowledge of ghosts. After discovering that he came from Amity Park, it wasn't surprising that he had a good understanding of things and a few theories of his own."

Danny frowned at the strange proud smile on Vlad's face. "And because of that, you spill your greatest secret to him?"

"He," Vlad said, shooting a darkening look at Kwan who looked away innocently, "discovered that on his own."

"I may have stumbled onto some of his secret files detailing research and about his accident and development of his ghost powers." Kwan shrugged like that was no big deal.

"You hacked through all of my toughest securities and firewall like it was surrounded by a wall of paper." Vlad's look darkened, and Kwan shrank away.

"I have a highly curious mind," Kwan argued. "Anyway, after I found out all about him, I naturally couldn't just ignore it. Masters has a wealth of information about ghosts that we could only dream of learning. It's no wonder he's the leading expert in ecto based weaponry, next to your parents."

"I had hoped telling him everything would drive him away," Vlad admit, frustrated that it had apparently caused the reverse to happen.

"You know everything," Danny said as he stared puzzled at Kwan. "So how can you work for him?" That fact baffled him. Kwan seemed like such a nice guy, and Danny couldn't imagine any reason for him to work for someone as evil as Vlad.

"Well, I'm getting to learn a lot, not to mention hands on experience using the weaponry and fighting ghosts," Kwan listed the advantages of working for Vlad. "But recently, there's been a pretty bad outbreak of ghosts around here. Amity Park isn't the only place suffering from ghost attacks. We're trying to keep it under control so panic doesn't break out."

"The worst are the newborn ghosts," Vlad said in all seriousness. "The ones like Pain and Palsy that don't remember anything before dying. They're lash out in fear and panic and hurt people all because they have no understand about what's happened to them. We brought Pain and Palsy back here to teach them control so they would be less dangerous."

"I had this whole theory that Palsy's power derived from his paralyzing fear," Kwan cut in with a proud smile, "of pretty much everything. We had a hard time coaxing him out and testing his powers. Pain's ability comes from his protectiveness over Palsy. He pretty much wanted to cause pain to anyone that tried to hurt Palsy."

"Yes, it's a very sound theory." Vlad sighed tiredly like this wasn't the first time listening to Kwan's explanation.

Danny glared at them. "If you were trying to help them, why did you give Palsy that awful addiction?"

"That was an accident," Vlad answered as he glanced away. Both of them wore similar looks of regret. "I was helping Pain learn to control his ability, and I let him test it on me. That's when we first discovered that he could literally rip out the strongest emotion a ghost is feeling. Palsy picked up the ball that I spit out, and-" He stopped, shaking his head.

"He ate it," Kwan finished, grimacing. "I was busy helping Masters after that whole ordeal, and Pain was apologizing because we didn't know that his power could do that. I don't know what brought on Palsy impulse to eat it. He was usually too scared to even try anything. But after he ate it, he changed. He became wild, more malevolent, more," he glanced at Vlad, "evil ghost like."

"After some observation, we determined that eating those emotions has a terrible effect on ghosts," Vlad continued, rubbing at his eyes. "Palsy developed a craving for them. When we didn't let him have another after a week, his spirit started to deteriorate, and we calculated that he would have month based on his rate of deterioration."

"And you sent them after me because you could manipulate them into doing your bidding?" Danny sneered at the older half ghost.

"No," Vlad snapped, and he looked like he was resisting the urge to throttle Danny. "No, I sent them to retrieve you, bring you here to help me. Eating the emotions of a half ghost started the addiction. I thought maybe eating the emotions of another half ghost might have a reverse effect."

"Well, it didn't," Danny growled, wishing he could use his ghost powers at that moment. "Palsy ate my love, and now they're both gone."

Surprise appeared on Vlad's face at that announcement, and Danny realized perhaps he hadn't known, yet, about the demise of Pain and Palsy. It happened in a flash. One moment the room was silent, then both Danny and Vlad jumped at the loud clatter after Kwan threw his helmet across the room.

"I told you!" Kwan shouted with a rage that made even Vlad look scared. "I told you not to send them. I told you I should go. But no," Kwan raised his arms and shook them in an overly dramatic fashion. "You said Fenton would only think I was being manipulated, it's better to just send Pain and Palsy to convince Fenton to come here." He glared at Vlad, and Danny could stared stunned by the outburst as Kwan continued to fume.

"You may have had a point," Vlad said with his gaze on Danny. "But I thought their situation would appeal more to Daniel. I knew if he learned their story, he would want to help them."

"I did want to help them," Danny mumbled, rubbing at his forehead. If he had known all this beforehand, he would have accepted Pain's offer to come to Vlad's castle. "I thought you were using them. Pain told me he either had to destroy me or convince me to join you."

Vlad sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed. He suddenly looked like all his strength had left him. "I told them to convince you to come back here with them. I didn't mean for them to attack you, but apparently they confused my order. I definitely didn't want them drawing out your strongest emotion for Palsy to eat. I was only working on a theory with that, and I wanted to run tests before even allowing him to eat the emotions of another half ghost. But we lost contact with them after they left to find you. We hadn't even heard any news that you defeated them."

"I didn't do it," Danny mumbled, leaning back in the bed. "Skulker used the Fenton Peeler to erase them." They were all silent, a depression settling over them. All three of them wanted to help the ghost pair, but all of them failed. Danny lifted his gaze to Kwan then flicked it toward Vlad. "How did you know I was here in Wisconsin?"

The question brought some life back to Kwan, who grinned at him. "I am Dash's best friend," he reminded, and Danny felt his face redden at the smirk. "He told me he hoped you would come with him to his cousin's wedding. I told him he was being a dumb ass. I know how his father is." He rubbed absently at his shoulder like remembering something painful. "Anyway, I thought it wise to keep tabs on you while you were here. Just in case."

"Um," Danny glanced away, unable to fight back his blush. "How much did you see?"

Kwan reached over and ruffled Danny's hair. "I only watched when you were in the same place as Dash's dad. That's the only time I needed to worry about you."

Vlad glanced over Danny. "And I'm glad he did." He frowned at the injuries that Danny sported after being held captive by the thugs that Mr. Baxter hired.

Suddenly the oddness of the whole situation hit him. "So this whole thing was seriously not some plot to get me out of the way so you can kill my dad and steal my mom?" Danny asked, wondering how he could have possibly been so wrong.

Vlad's shoulders sagged as a new wave of depression came over him. "I went to Amity Park for your graduation."

"You did?" Danny shouted in shock. He hadn't heard anything about that, and he couldn't remember seeing Vlad at his graduation.

Vlad nodded. "I met with your mother before it and spilled everything to her." He lifted his gaze to Danny. "About me. Your secret is still safe."

Danny's eyes darted to Kwan, suddenly horrified by another realization. They had been talking about his status as half ghost the entire while ignoring the fact that Kwan was present.

"Oh, I had already figure it out," Kwan said with a laugh. "In retrospect, it actually seems really obvious and makes everything that happened in high school make complete sense. But I'm not going to tell anyone, just like I'm not spilling Masters' secret."

Danny relaxed somewhat. Kwan was Dash's friend, and Danny believed he could trust Kwan. "You seem to know everyone's secret."

Kwan merely shrugged as he continued smiling.

"But why tell my mom about you?" Danny asked, returning his attention to Vlad.

"I was tired." Vlad stood, straightening out his suit. "Tired of lying, tired of playing games, just tired of everything. I wanted to tell Maddie everything and be done with it. And it's over, Daniel." He met Danny's eyes, the completely open, vulnerable truth of his statement speaking through that simple look. "Your mother may love me, but it's only as a dear friend, and I've come to realize it's time for me to stop and get on with my life."

"Huh," Danny responded, still trying to process that news. "I don't know what to do with that."

A doorbell rang, and Vlad sighed. "Who is that?" he grumbled as he stalked out of the room.

"Pretty crazy, isn't it?" Kwan asked to break the awkward silence, and Danny only nodded numbly.


	24. Chapter 23

As soon as they reached the castle, Dash pounded on the large door. He didn't bother to take the moment to be surprised by the fact that this Vlad Masters person lived in a huge castle. Really who was this man? After a moment, Josh tapped on Dash's shoulder.

"What?" he shouted as he turned to glare at his cousin.

"Might I suggest the doorbell?" Josh questioned then reached over to press the button. They could hear the chime of the bell echoing inside the castle. "This place is huge!" He stared up at the castle before dropping his gaze back to Dash. "I doubt they could hear all your pounding if they're somewhere in the back of the castle or something."

Dash growled irritably, even though he knew Josh had a point. His fingers curled and uncurled at his sides as he resisted the urge to try to break down the door. With Josh's help, they might be able to manage it with their combined strength. But before he could offer the suggestion, the door opened. Dash didn't wait for introductions. He grabbed hold of the man's suit and pushed his way into the castle. "Where is he?"

"Excuse me?" the older man asked, sneering down his nose at Dash. "I think you'll have to be a little more informative than that."

Dash was ready to punch the man and start beating some answers out of him, but Josh stepped in and held him back. "We're looking for a friend," he explained in a much calmer manner than Dash could manage at that moment. "His name is Danny Fenton."

"Oh, you mean Daniel," the man said with an obnoxious smirk, but it left his face when he glanced toward Dash. "I-"

"Dash!" twin shouts came from behind them. The three men looked over, and Dash stared disbelieving at what he saw. He released his hold on the man, which obviously must be Vlad Masters. Rushing over to the other two men, Dash drew Danny into his arms, holding him tightly.

"I was so worried about you," he mumbled against Danny's neck, not oblivious to the bruising on Danny's face or the cast on his foot. But for the moment, he was simply too happy to see Danny was alive. The whole way to the castle, he kept fearing the worst was happening to Danny.

"Sorry," Danny mumbled, pressing his head into Dash's shoulder. His arms tightened around the blond jock, and Dash thought he understood the feeling. He didn't want to let go either.

A slap on his back reminded Dash of the other surprise. "Great to see you, man," Kwan said, smiling at his best friend. Then he noticed Josh and waved to the blond cousin. "Great wedding," he called.

Dash stared at Kwan for the longest moment then to Vlad and back. "I think an explanation is in order," he said, frowning at everyone. From what Danny told him, this reunion was the last thing he expected when they reached the castle. Danny was hurt, but his injuries seen to. If Vlad had hurt Danny, why would he patch up those injuries? And why was Kwan here? He got a headache trying to sort it all out by himself.

"Can we sit first?" Danny asked, leaning heavily on Dash to keep his weight off the injured leg. With all in agreement, they took the conversation into the dining room. Dash helped Danny put his leg up on one of the chairs then stayed protectively by his side while he glared at Vlad. He didn't trust that smug looking bastard.

"Dash, chill out," Kwan said, catching the murderous look that Dash kept sending Vlad's way. "Masters didn't do anything to hurt Danny." He frowned at the glare still coming their way. "This time," he amended. "You want to blame someone for Danny's injuries, then look at your father because he's the one that had those jerks kidnap Fenton and beat him up."

"He's right on that point," Danny said as he took Dash's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Vlad's innocent this time around." He glanced at Vlad. "And probably from now on."

"You explained everything to him, didn't you?" Vlad asked, smirking at the young half ghost.

Danny frowned like he expected some insult to come from Vlad. "Yes."

"Anyone care to explain things to me?" Josh questioned, still confused as to how Danny even knew someone like Vlad Masters.

"I trust him," Dash told Danny, "but this is your secret."

Danny glanced past Dash to his cousin who sat on Dash's other side. He only knew the man for a little while, but Josh was the only one Dash trusted in his family. "I'll trust him," he announced when he was silent too long and all eyes were on him. He waved a hand toward Vlad. "Get on with the explanation." He was too tired to go through it all again, and his head was starting to throb. Leaning against Dash, he closed his eyes as Vlad and Kwan launched into the whole explanation about the events leading up to now.

By the time the discussion wound down to a close, Danny's headache was full blown. He cringed as he rubbed at his temples.

Kwan was first to notice only because he sat opposite Danny and could see each and every wince. "I think it's time for those pain meds," he announced as he stood then left the dining room.

Josh looked at the time on his watch and paled. "Julia is probably going to kill me for disappearing for this long," he mumbled, dreading that conversation.

"Tell her to take out her rage on my father," Dash muttered through gritted teeth. "No one will care if she murders him."

Kwan returned with a glass of water and the pills. Danny took them gratefully, wanting to end to the pounding in his head. "You took the news rather well," Kwan said to Josh. "No big flip out over the whole ghost thing."

"Oh, trust me. I'm freaking out about that whole thing," Josh said with a nervous laugh as he stood. "But," he shrugged, "he's Dash's boyfriend. Even as a half ghost, he still has more human compassion than my uncle." His hand closed in a tight fist, thinking about what Mr. Baxter did to Danny. "Are you two coming back to the hotel?"

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't exactly want to be anywhere near where I might run into Mr. Baxter," Danny muttered as the painkillers kicked in, ebbing away the aches and throbs.

"If I go back now, I might actually kill my father," Dash said. Then he glanced up at his cousin. "Sorry for taking you away from your wedding."

Josh shrugged. "This was important." He patted Dash on the back, and Kwan went with him to the front door.

Danny glanced at Vlad, who had fallen silent. "Um," he looked away, shifting a little awkwardly. He wouldn't have imagined his day turning out like this. "You probably don't want us imposing on you."

"Daniel, I would be insulted if you thought I would kick you out of my home after everything," Vlad said as he stood from the table. "My home is open to you whenever you wish to visit." He walked toward the kitchen door when he paused. "I may be able to help you with your college situation."

"No," Danny said firmly as he met Vlad's eyes. Being allowed to stay the night was one thing. Having Vlad pull strings to help him felt strange. He was used to the scheming Vlad that tried to trick him to get at his mother. He needed time to get used to the changed Vlad.

Kwan returned to the room as Dash stood, nearly making Danny tumble off the chair by the suddenness of the action. "I can't believe you never told me about any of this," Dash said, and Kwan laughed nervously.

"Honestly, I wanted to. But since it involved Masters and Fenton's secrets, I didn't think I should say anything. Plus I couldn't think of a good explanation that excluded their secrets." Kwan winced, waiting for an angry rant from his friend.

Dash merely shook his head. "I'm going to go pick up the car and our things from the hotel." He leaned down to lay a kiss on Danny's head before he left.

"It's about time," Kwan exclaimed as he hugged Danny from behind, surprising the half ghost. "I never thought that idiot would get up the courage to make his move on you."

Danny laughed at that reaction as a soft blush crept onto his cheeks. "Sometimes it doesn't feel real," he admitted. "Dash likes me?" His laugh was a little airy. "A couple of months ago, I would have told you that was crazy."

"And I would have just smirked knowingly and waited for the both of you boneheads to realize how much you like each other."

That announcement lifted some pressure from Danny's shoulder that he hadn't realized was there until now. He never gave it much thought as everything progressed so rapidly, but he did worry about the reactions of Dash's friends. Tucker and Sam, he knew, would be perfectly fine with Dash. They had their reasons to be cautious of Dash, but Danny knew they would give him a chance because Danny liked him. Danny didn't know if that would be true for Dash's friends. Paulina had made it clear the night they stayed over at Tucker's dorm room that she was thrilled with the idea of Danny and Dash being together. While Dash mentioned that Kwan was the one person he trusted with his secret crush, Danny didn't know what Kwan's reaction would be when he learned they were together. But the comment was proof that Kwan had been waiting for them to become a couple. It was a relief to know that Dash's two most important friends approved of their relationship.


	25. Chapter 24

They only spent two days in Wisconsin after everything that happened. Vlad wanted them to stay longer, until Danny fully recovered, but Danny refused. It was weird for him to stay in the castle while Vlad doted on him like a concerned parent over a sick child. He knew Vlad was trying to make up for everything that happened, but it didn't need to be all at once. Danny needed that process to go slowly. Dash was also annoying with his concern, not wanting to make the long road trip while Danny was still on the pain meds.

"I'll be fine," Danny said from the passenger's seat as Dash loaded the car with their suitcases. "It's going to be a long, boring drive anyway, so I'm probably going to sleep most of the way."

"Dash, stop before you make him regret going out with you," Kwan warned, but he wore a teasing smile.

"You sure you don't want to come back with us?" Dash slammed the trunk shut. "It's summer after all."

Kwan glanced back at the castle then shook his head. "There's still a lot of ghosts around here, and Masters could use the help keeping them under control. And we both know how things go with crazy ghosts on the loose." Living in Amity Park, which was still recognized as the most haunted town in the world, they knew a lot about the panic and chaos ghosts could cause.

"Catch ya later then, man." Dash pulled Kwan into a hug to say goodbye. Then he climbed into the car. Kwan remained on the steps of the castle waving to them as they pulled away.

"Can we at least listen to some music?" Danny begged as he settled back into the seat, but Dash refused to let him touch the radio. With a sigh, Danny leaned his head back and let his eyes slip shut.

When they reached Amity Park, Dash drove to Fenton Works. Danny hated it - or maybe he kind of enjoyed it - as Dash carried him up the walkway to the front door. His stomach twisted uncomfortably with his nervousness.

"Why are you so nervous?" Dash questioned, feeling Danny tense up in his arms.

Danny swallowed, his mouth feeling like it was filled with cotton balls. "I think I need to tell my parents."

"What brought that on?" They stood in front of the door, but Dash didn't ring the bell yet, waiting for Danny's answer.

"I was thinking about it the whole way back," Danny admitted. "Well, most of it. Vlad finally told my mom everything, and she was okay with it. Shouldn't I be able to tell my parents everything about me? It would be a great relief to finally have this secret out in the open with them."

Dash didn't argue. This was Danny's secret and decision. "You have nothing to worry about then. They're not going to hate you. They might be upset that you never told them though." Dash set Danny down on his feet, still keeping one arm around his boyfriend's body. Then he sighed as he stared at the front door. "I'm the one that needs to be worried. I have to go home to that asshole of a father."

"Will you be okay?" Worry fluttered through Danny's eyes.

Dash smiled as he reached up and traced light patterns upon his boyfriend’s cheek. He didn’t care what happened when he went home. As long as Danny was alive and well, nothing else mattered to Dash. He pulled Danny closer, circling both arms around him. Then he leaned in, and their lips met in a tender kiss. The front door banging open interrupted their kiss. The two men broke apart when they spotted Jazz standing in the door way.

She took one look at her brother, and her eyes flew wide. "What happened?" She pulled Danny to her, hugging him tightly like an overprotective sister. Her eyes narrowed at Dash. "If you did this-"

"He didn't do this," Danny cut her off before she could finish the threat.

"I should be going now," Dash announced, leaving Danny to explain everything to his family. He picked up Danny's suitcases and moved them inside the doorway. "I'll call you later." He placed a small peck to Danny's temple before he turned back down the walk to his car.

Jazz helped Danny into the house and settled him onto the couch. Their parents appeared a moment later to welcome him home, but they stopped short when they saw the broken leg and the fading bruises on his face. Danny smiled weakly at them.

"What happened?" Maddie demanded.

"That's what I wanted to know." Jazz folded her arms as she glared down at her brother, still waiting for an explanation.

Danny sighed, rubbing his forehead. "There's a lot I need to tell you." He paused, thinking how to explain everything. "It all started with that accident with the Ghost Portal."

"Danny!" Jazz gasped, realizing immediately where this conversation was going.

Danny held up a hand to her. "No, it's time." He looked to their parents, who watched him with a mixture of confusion and concern. He took a deep breath then launched into the full story. At the end of it, he glanced up warily at his parents, waiting for their reactions. Even Jazz was chewing on her nails in nervousness. Then their parents suddenly yanked him up off the couch and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Can't breathe," Danny wheezed. When they released him, Jazz was there to steady him.

"Why didn't you ever tell us?" Jack question with a hurt expression.

"Sorry." Danny hung his head in shame. "I was," he cringed, "afraid. You hunt ghosts, and I'm half ghost."

"But you're our son," Maddie started as she tilted Danny's face to look in his eyes. "Half ghost, gay, whatever! We're still going to love you."

“And we could have made cool ghost hunting weapons for you,” Jack offered. Danny hugged his parents again, knowing how lucky he was to have parents like them. His mind strayed, and he wondered what would happen when Dash got home.

 

Not too far away, Dash entered his house. Upon hearing the front door open, Mr. Baxter stormed into the front room to meet his son.

“I cannot believe you would embarrass our family like that,” Mr. Baxter shouted as he grabbed his son by the collar of his shirt.

“You were the only one embarrassed.” Dash glared at his father. His hands clenched into tight fists at his side while he struggled to keep his anger from taking control of his actions. Mrs. Baxter appeared in the corner of Dash’s vision. She glanced between her husband and her son, worried about both of them. “Danny could have been killed. And you don’t even care!”

“Of course I don’t. The little brat should have died.”

Dash cut off whatever Mr. Baxter planned to say next when he slammed his father into the wall. His hand squeezed around his father’s neck until the man’s face turned an ugly shade of purple.

“I’m gay. Nothing you do will change that,” Dash stated in a controlled voice, but his father saw the anger dancing in his son’s eyes. His mother let out a worried gasp, but she didn’t attempt to help her husband. She knew she couldn’t compare to Dash’s strength. “If you can’t accept me as a gay man, don’t bother accepting me as your son because I don’t want a parent like you. I’m going to pack up my things, and then I’m out of here.”

Dash released his father, who slid to the floor holding his throat and gasping for air. Then he stomped up the stairs to his bedroom. A day before they left for Wisconsin, Dash found the perfect apartment. The landlord said he would hold the place until Dash returned as long as Dash paid a month’s worth of rent before leaving. Dash grabbed another suitcase and started tossing in the rest of his clothes.

When he was packing up the last of his things into a large cardboard box, Dash heard a knock on his door. He walked to the door and cracked it open to see which of his parents wanted to bug him. His mother gave a weak smile, holding a white envelope in her hands. Dash opened the door to allow her into his room. After entering, his mother took a seat on his bed. Dash closed the door before joining her on the bed.

“Dash, sweetheart,” his mother said in a soft, gentle voice. She placed a hand on her son’s knee as she stared him with teary eyes. “I was saving this for when you got married, but I think now is a good time to give it to you.” She handed the envelope to her son.

Dash opened it and pulled out the check for five hundred thousand dollars. His gaze snapped toward his mother to stare at her in shock.

“I’ve been slipping money into a secret account ever since your birth,” his mother explained. Dash turned back to the check, almost unable to believe the amount written in black ink. “Danny - He’s a good boy. And I want you to be happy. Even if you don’t want me-” She broke into tears before finishing her sentence. Guilt filled Dash when he saw how upset his mother was over what he said to his father. He pulled his mother into a hug and let her cry on his shoulder.

“You’ve always been a good mother.” Dash rubbed his mother’s back as she sobbed against him. “When I said that, I didn’t mean you. I only meant it about him.”

“You should leave quickly,” his mother stated. She pulled away from her son’s embrace and wiped the tears from her eyes. “You’re father’s pretty upset, so-”

“I know.” Dash smiled at his mother. She stood and left the room so Dash could finish packing. Once everything he owned was packed away and thrown into his car, Dash said a final goodbye to his mother before driving to the apartment complex.

When he arrived, he first visited the landlord to get the keys to his apartment. Then he headed to see the apartment before bringing any of his things up from the car. He checked the place to make sure nothing had happened since the last time he visited. He found the king-sized bed he asked for in the bedroom, and the phone line was connected. Satisfied, Dash brought his things up to the apartment.

“So you just left after that?” Danny asked when Dash told him what happened with his parents. Dash decided to hold off unpacking until morning and called Danny before turning in for the night.

“Yeah, I packed my things and left,” Dash replied. “My mom thinks you’re a ‘good boy.’ That means she likes you.”

“At least one of them likes me,” Danny said in a dry voice. “Where are you right now? Did you find someone to stay with?”

“I’m at our apartment.” Dash grinned as he waited for Danny’s reaction to that statement.

“Our… _apartment_? You found us a place already?”

Dash laughed at Danny’s reaction. “Yeah. Sorry I didn’t wait for you come to see it, but the place is perfect for us.”

“Oh, well if you say so.” Danny rolled his eyes, but he was excited about the apartment.

“It’s getting late. I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Dash asked, and Danny answered with an affirmative. “Good night then. I love you.”

Danny’s mouth dropped open when he heard the confession. They sat in silence, Danny too shocked to reply right away. Then a third party broke it.

“What are you waiting for, Danny?” Jazz almost shouted into the phone.

“Jazz, stop listening when I’m on the phone,” Danny growled when Jazz’s outburst broke him out of his daze. He waited until he heard her hang up the phone. “Sorry about that.” Danny chewed on his lower lip. “I… wasn’t expecting you to say that. Since, you know, we’ve never really said that to each other before.” He closed his eyes and counted to ten before speaking again. “I love you too.”

They said their good nights and then hung up the phone. Danny flopped back onto his bed. He picked up a pillow and covered his blushing face with it.

“Was that really the first time you exchanged ‘I love you’ with each other?” Jazz asked from Danny’s open doorway.

“Yes, it was. Now go away.” Danny threw his pillow at her, but Jazz skipped away before the pillow even came close to hitting her. After he flipped off the lights, Danny lay back ready to dream of a certain blond man.


End file.
